


Episode 1-15 - "The Flow of Life"

by stgjr



Series: Undiscovered Frontier Season 1 - "Seeking the Past" [15]
Category: Battlestar Galactica (2003), Mass Effect, Multi-Fandom, Original Work
Genre: Crossover, Gen, Multiple Crossovers, Multiverse, Space Opera
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-05-04
Packaged: 2018-10-25 23:39:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10774884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stgjr/pseuds/stgjr
Summary: The Aurora travels to the Citadel Station of Universe M4P2 (Mass Effect) to negotiate for assistance with the Citadel Council; Zack runs into an old friend when an Alliance supply convoy meets up with the Colonial Refugee Fleet.





	1. Chapter 1

**Teaser**  
  
  
_Ship's Log: ASV Aurora; 20 August 2641. Captain Robert Dale recording. We are still in our station-keeping position beside Arcturus Station while_ Mastrash _Ledosh and Ambassador Weekes finish negotiations with the Systems Alliance for aid in the war with the Reich. Ledosh has expressed his confidence that the Systems Alliance Parliament will pass an aid bill shortly._  
  
  
Lucy Lucero kept her breathing still and her eyes on Meridina. The Gersallian woman stood motionless before her. The wooden practice blade in Meridina's hands was held upward in a ready position, much like the one in Lucy's hands. They were wearing brown padded robes over sleeveless magenta vests and matching pants; an exercise outfit befitting their current activity.  
  
Lucy felt Meridina's movement a moment before it came. Her arms moved almost by their own accord, not Lucy's conscious decision, and there was a sharp thwack as wood met wood. She had successfully parried Meridina's first attack. She sensed more attacks coming and met them in turn, each second passing by with a thwack. Lucy backpedaled on her feet and waited for any opening to show itself. A sharp pain went through her forearm when the tip of Meridina's practice weapon smacked against it during a missed swipe.  
  
Then she saw it. Meridina shifted her weight to change her attack pattern. Lucy swung the blade for Meridina's weak side. Meridina had to move to avoid the strike and that involved pulling her weapon back from an attack. Lucy sliced at her another time and smacked the side of Meridina's hand. Another slash and Meridina took a step backward. Lucy, feeling she had the advantage, moved in for a cut at Meridina's hip.  
  
Meridina's free hand popped up as if to catch Lucy's sword. That was not normally a maneuver one would find in a sword fight since, in a real one, you would likely lose some or all of the hand. But Meridina's purpose was evidently not to grab the sword.  
  
Lucy felt like she was struck by a battering ram. She flew back six feet to the edge of the mat and landed with a huff and a dull pain in her ribs. For a moment she felt out of air and needed to suck in breath.  
  
In that moment, Meridina rushed in for the final blow. One strong strike knocked Lucy's practice sword away. She pressed the tip of the wooden practice blade to Lucy's throat. "You are bested, my student," Meridina remarked plainly. Her blue eyes shined with restrained mirth. "Although I believe your swordswomanship is improving."  
  
"I give up," Lucy sighed. She held her hands outward in surrender. Meridina pulled her blade away and used a free hand to help Lucy up. Lucy held a hand outward and reached for the weapon with her power. It went to her hand, hilt-first. "I'm a little confused, Meridina."  
  
"By what?"  
  
"I'm not planning to join your Order," Lucy said. "So wasn't my training only supposed to be in basic _swevyra_ stuff so I don't become a raging murdering psycho? How does sword-fighting fit into this?"  
  
"It teaches patience and fine control of the _swevyra_ ," Meridina explained. "Though you will not be issued a _lakesh_ , there is no provision against teaching you basic use of that blade or any other."  
  
"Ah." Lucy considered that. "It sounds like you've given it a lot of thought."  
  
"Indeed." Meridina lifted her blade to a ready position. "Again."  
  
Lucy sighed and mirrored Meridina's stance. A thought crossed her mind and she fought against the urge to smile.  
  
As soon as Meridina moved to attack, Lucy moved as well. Instead of parrying the attack she ducked it and sent her blade toward Meridina's left side.  
  
Her senses told her things had gone wrong a brief moment before Meridina's body shifted to the right, avoiding Lucy's blow. Lucy felt Meridina's foot make contact with her ankle and lower leg. In one quick sweep Meridina used that position to knock Lucy off her feet. Lucy hit the mat with a resounding thud and an "oof". Meridina's wooden blade again pressed against her neck. "A clever tactic," Meridina noted. "But you must remember that those with _swevyra_ like ours can sense the imminent future and read our opponents' movements."  
  
"I'll keep that in mind," Lucy sighed. She accepted Meridina's help in standing up again. "And shouldn't you just call it 'Life Force powers'?"  
  
Meridina blinked. Her brow furrowed. "Such a term is longer. Why would I use that when our word _swevyra_ suffices?"  
  
"But it doesn't, though," Lucy pointed out. " _Everyone_ has _swevyra_. But not everyone can use this… this 'force' you're training me in."  
  
"So you believe to call the use of our talents something different?"  
  
"Well, it might make things easier to say more quickly."  
  
"Referring to our 'abilities' should suffice, then." Meridina brought up the blade. "Now, let us try this again."  
  
  
  
  
With the Alliance Ambassador to the Systems Alliance working with Ledosh this time, Robert found he had time for a bridge watch. Julia was beside him at the first officer's station, looking over the results of their battle drill. "Commander King and her crew are working well in our practices," she said to Robert. "They're really good at covering for Commander Laurent's fighters."  
  
"She's a consummate professional," Robert agreed. "Which is why I'm surprised she's able to work with us so well. Most of the pros seem to dislike us."  
  
"Well, despite what others have said, she doesn't actually have her head up… somewhere sensitive," Julia said with a grin. "As for the other training measures, Commander Worf's suggestions about our targeting algorithms have increased accuracy across the board. And Jarod's work with Commander Data means we're getting about five percent better performance out of our computer systems.  
  
"Good to hear that. We need every edge we can get." Robert tapped his fingers on his chair.  
  
"You should relax," Julia said in a low voice.  
  
"You heard about Grenaris?"  
  
"The Reich retreated," she said. "The first Klingon ships helped to drive them off."  
  
"But the colony itself was mostly gone," Robert said. "Only a few hundred people were left. Our troops mostly found empty homes and a few mass graves. Not enough for the population. Intel thinks that before the fleet showed up, they dragged most of the population back into their space to be slave labor."  
  
Julia frowned. "Yeah. It's depressing to think about it. But things are looking up. Our talks have all been successful so far. The Dorei Federation's mobilizing their full fleet now and several of the wavering countries in the Alliance are coming over to supporting the war."  
  
"Yeah. Now if we can just confirm they have no clue where to look for that Facility, I'll feel a lot better."  
  
The door to the bridge slid open. Robert and Julia looked back to observe Ledosh coming in. They stood. " _Mastrash_ , is there anything we can do for you?"  
  
"The talks proceed well," Ledosh assured them. "But the Systems Alliance has a… term that must be dealt with."  
  
Robert and Julia exchanged looks. "Which would be?", Julia asked.  
  
"To ensure the security of Earth's territories in this galaxy, the Systems Alliance is reluctant to dispatch the fleets to justify their participation. Additionally, they have the obvious required term."  
  
"Our IU drives." Julia sighed. "And we thought getting the Romulans to accept that deal was tough. There's no way this universe's leading races let the local branch of Humanity have our IU drives first."  
  
"Exactly. Provision of the technology in the current environment will be politically destabilizing to a degree the Systems Alliance, nor our own Alliance, can easily afford. As such, President Morgan has given me direct instructions to commence further negotiations immediately to win the approval of the other races."  
  
"Which means the Citadel Council."  
  
"Indeed. I trust you are ready to plot a course."  
  
"So… we're going to the Citadel," Julia said.  
  
Ledosh nodded in affirmation. "Yes."  
  


**Undiscovered Frontier  
_"The Flow of Life"_**

  
  
The bridge crew had all assembled on the bridge by the time the _Aurora_ was ready for the transit. Caterina was sitting at the science station and buzzing with excitement. "I've been waiting _months_ to do this. _Months!_ "  
  
"It will be a most interesting experience." Data had taken up Tom Barnes' old post at the engineering station beside Caterina. "The Mass Relay system's existence may have a considerable impact on how we understand subspace physics."  
  
"And I'll be scanning the entire time," Cat assured him.  
  
Robert nodded. "Alright, Nick. Let's earn your paycheck."  
  
"I hear that." Locarno activated the impulse drives. "I'm receiving telemetry from Arcturus for the Relay that connects to the Citadel. Setting impulse drives to three quarters and following the approach course."  
  
 _Aurora_ accelerated through space toward the appropriate mass relay. It was several kilometers long - the size of a space station by itself - and shaped almost like a tuning fork of sorts with rings spinning in the inside hollow section. Hollow, that was, save for the surging sphere of material at the heart of the relay, glowing bright blue. "Element zero, right?", Robert asked Cat.  
  
"Yup. Definitely. It's really widespread in this particular universe." She remained focus on her sensor screens.  
  
"A thousand kilometers and closing," Locarno reported.  
  
Everyone seemed ready to hold their breath as the bright glow of the Mass Relay grew in the holo-viewscreen. Locarno ticked down the distance. "Ten kilometers…. we will make transit in five… four… three… two… one!"  
  
Energy surged from the core of the Mass Relay and gripped _Aurora_ , crackling almost like lightning connecting the ship to the Relay's core. The viewscreen showed what looked to be a corridor of space appear ahead of them and the ship surged into it, like a boat swept along in a current.  
  
The corridor abruptly disappeared. They were back in normal space. "Transit is complete." Locarno checked his board. "All drives are good. It looks like our drift was at about two thousand kilometers."  
  
"Nice run, Nick," Julia said in congratulations.  
  
"Fascinating," Data added, having relayed some of the sensor readings to the engineering station.  
  
"You said it." Caterina tapped away at her board. "The Relay creates a massless corridor through space and uses the responding gravitational warping to…. this is so incredible."  
  
Data nodded in agreement. "I would theorize that the technology essentially creates a subspace tunnel between two points in space utilizing mass effect fields."  
  
"Given they call the technology by that name, it's probably a good guess," Angel pointed out.  
  
"We're coming up on the Citadel, Captain," Locarno reported.  
  
All eyes went back to the holo-viewscreen. Now it showed the opaque clouds of a nebula, dull blue and gray in color, parting slowly as _Aurora_ flew through them. Lights appeared through the cloud that became more prominent until they emerged fully into the pocket of space within the Widow Nebula, revealing the Citadel.  
  
The station was rotating around a ring; in the middle of that ring was a connecting pathway leading to a platform and tower pointing "up", in the same direction as the massive arms that came up from the center ring. In the space between the arms, several starships and spacecraft were coming and going, some of them very large. "Going by the recognition profiles in our computers, the majority of the defense fleet is made up of Turian warships." Jarod tapped a key. "Although there's one definite exception."  
  
That exception loomed ahead of them. The ship in question was wider than the _Aurora_ was long, a central hull with a large hollow section and large arms extending from each cardinal point. "That's not a Turian design," Julia noted.  
  
"It's Asari," Jarod confirmed. "According to the Systems Alliance recognition profiles it's the _Destiny Ascension_ , flagship of the Asari Republics. The construction of the ship is more advanced than anything we've seen in M4P2. The materials… I think the only ship that could match it would be the _Kentan_."  
  
Everyone recognized that name; the flagship of the Gersallian Interdependency, one of the largest dreadnought-starships of the Multiverse.  
  
"According to our information packet, those five arms are called the Wards, they're over 43 kilometers long and about three hundred and thirty meters thick," Jarod explained. "They have near-Earth gravity and provide the majority of the housing and most of the commercial districts. The ring is only point three Gs and is known as the Presidium. It contains the most expensive living areas and major offices for most of the galactic businesses, not to mention embassies and consulates for every major race in the galaxy."  
  
"And the tower is where the Citadel Council is based," Julia finished for him.  
  
"This place is _so awesome_ ," Caterina said in awe. "Tell me we're getting shore leave."  
  
"We don't have any orders forbidding it," Robert remarked. "Just remember we're here on a diplomatic mission. I want all hands reminded that they have to be on their best behavior when on liberty."  
  
"Tom is going to hate missing this sight," Cat sighed.  
  
Mentioning Barnes caused Robert and Julia to look at each other with a bit of sadness. It was only a further reminder that their group had become reduced by Zack's decision to leave for now. "Yes," Robert sighed. "I think they'd both love it."  
  
"Citadel Security Traffic Control is transmitting a station-keeping zone for us," Locarno said.  
  
"Let's not seem too hasty. Reduce impulse to point one five and switch to thrusters when we're within the station arms."  
  
"Yes ma'am." Locarno acted to implement Julia's approach orders.  
  
Julia looked over to Robert. "Time to get the _Mastrash_ , then. You'll be going over?"  
  
"Yes." Robert looked at his multidevice. "He and I are due at the Earth Embassy in an hour to meet with the Systems Alliance's representation. Ambassador Udina is supposed to have arranged a spot for us in the Citadel Council's itinerary for later today."  
  
"Good luck." She grinned at him. "I think you're starting to get the hang of this diplomacy."  
  
"So says the woman who actually called the Romulans' bluff," he responded with a knowing smile. The smile dulled a moment later. "I wish Zack was here. This would be a fun place to just take some leave and explore a little."  
  
"I know." Julia nodded. "I just hope he's doing okay."  
  
"Well, you never know what he's getting up to these days…"  
  
  
  
  
It looked like the start of a blessedly-quiet day for Admiral Adama when he arrived in _Galactica_ CIC. Tigh looked up from the central table. "Good morning, sir. How are you?"  
  
"Sleeping better," Adama admitted. He held up a mug. "Still getting used to this 'replicated' coffee."  
  
"Godsdamned stuff tastes like it came from a dog's ass, if you ask me," Tigh grumbled. "I don't know how the Alliance's people put up with this replicated stuff. I'd rather go back to service rations than have another plate of that so-called 'pasta' from last night."  
  
"Somehow I think Commander Carrey would agree," Adama said. He went over to the table and accepted the night's reports from Tigh. "The drive checks are going well?"  
  
"We're having to fabricate some new parts for a couple of ships showing wear and tear," Tigh said. "And Zarek's making a lot of fuss over some issue with the _Astral Queen_ 's power grid." Tigh frowned. "Apparently the new shield systems installed over there are overloading their capacitors whenever they're tested. Zarek wants _Koenig_ 's engineers back over."  
  
"Did you tell him that Lieutenant Derbely insisted on a full armed escort if she ever had to go back?", Adama inquired.  
  
"He offered to escort her himself."  
  
"Of course he did." Adama set the reports down. "Now…"  
  
"Sir." Gaeta looked up from his station. "I'm picking up something on the subspace sensors. I… well, I'm not quite sure I know what it is."  
  
Adama looked at him with some intensity. "Is it a Cylon ship jumping in?"  
  
"No, I think it's a warp signature… wait. DRADIS contacts appearing, approximately fifty thousand kilometers from the Fleet. I'm not reading Cylon ships…"  
  
Duala held her earpiece close. "Sir, Lieutenant Navaez from the _Koenig_ just opened a channel. She says not to worry, it's the relief convoy."  
  
Some scattered applause sounded in the CIC. Adama felt a pleased little grin come to his face at the news. "Well, that's good news. I'd better alert the President."  
  
"We're getting a signal, sir. It's from a vessel, a Dorei… 'starbird'?... called the _Xinal_. Captain Tiniri Pakalos commanding."  
  
"Put him on."  
  
Duala operated controls for the new system installed nearby; a holo-emitter and recorder that not only provided an image to send back to the caller, but created a holographic flatscreen that displayed video coming in from another ship. Adama found himself facing a blue-skinned alien, one of the Dorei, with light purple spots on her spotline and dark blue hair cut short to her neck. Bright teal eyes looked back at him. " _Admiral Adama of_ Galactica _? I am Captain Pakalos of the starbird_ Xinal _, escorting the Alliance relief convoy._ "  
  
Adama nodded. "Captain Pakalos, we've been looking forward to this meeting. You're a day earlier than we expected."  
  
" _Yes. Our engineers were able to sustain a higher warp speed than we had anticipated. We have some need to finish this duty quickly so we might jump out._ "  
  
"You mean you're due for the war," Adama said.  
  
" _Indeed._ Xinal _is needed at the front to fight the Nazi Reich. We will only stay long enough for the fleet to finish unloading your supplies, and then we and the fleet will jump to another universe before going to S4W8._ "  
  
"I understand." Adama nodded. "Commander Carrey keeps us informed about the progress of the war. The Colonies stand with our new friends and pray for a swift Alliance victory."  
  
" _We thank you. We shall see how swift the battle is._ " Pakalos nodded her thanks as well. " _Speaking of Commander Carrey, I will need to meet with him before long. Do you know where I can find him? His Operations officer stated he transported over to one of your ships._ "  
  
Tigh smirked for a moment. Adama nodded and allowed himself a little grin. "Yes, um, Commander Carrey selected today to begin a special project of his. I believe he called it a..." Adama looked to Tigh briefly, who was allowing the smirk to become a grin. "... 'civilian morale-building exercise'."  
  
  
  
  
 _Cloud 9_ had met Zack's expectations. The specialized dome and its ability to simulate actual sunlight, the environmental systems creating just the right amount of warmth without being a summer broiler, and the fresh and soft grass that really added to the environment.  
  
He took his place and looked out at the crowd of children. With only so many thousands of children in the Fleet, and only so many parents willing to okay this, it was surprising to see how many had turned out anyway. There were a couple hundred kids _easy_. And those were just the ones visible in the bleachers; others were spread out wherever they could find room.  
  
He tapped his multidevice under his uniform, knowing the commkey by heart, and that activated the speakers that would boom his voice across the entire park. "Alright everyone, I'm Commander Zachary Carrey of the _Koenig_. And today I'm going to teach you something special. It's a past-time from Earth…" He held up the object in his right hand. "...called baseball." He tossed the white ball with red stitching in the air a few times. "This is a baseball. And the object Lieutenant Apley is holding…" Zack indicated his XO, standing beside Tom Barnes. "...is called a baseball bat."  
  
Apley nodded and swung the bat a few times in his hands. Like Zack and Barnes, he was wearing a specialized uniform just for this occasion; a white baseball player uniform with the _Koenig_ emblazoned on it and the name _Koenig_ written in fancy cursive lettering above the insignia. Like any proper uniform the back had their names and bigger versions of their jersey numbers compared to the small ones over their hearts on the front. Zack had his old high school number of 22 on his jersey. Apley had opted merely for 1 and Barnes, with much snickering, took 69.  
  
"The goal of this game is for the pitcher to throw the ball at the batter and to try and make him miss it in the process. The batter, of course, tries to hit it. If he misses, it's a strike, and with three strikes you're out." He made a little motion, the umpire hand signal for being called out. "If he succeeds, he gets to start running for the bases." Zack pointed to each base in turn. "1st, 2nd, and 3rd." Three more _Koenig_ crew were on each base; Chief Alberto Gonzales, Petty Officer Constance Felder, and Crewwoman 1st Rate Dreyna Sapana, who stood out as the only Dorei among them. Three more _Koenig_ crew were in the outfield and April Sherlily was at short stop beside Zack. "If you hit the ball and it goes beyond these white lines…" He held his hands out and pointed to the foul lines from Home to the 1st and 3rd bases. "... it's a foul ball. If any of the team on the field catches your ball in mid-air…"  
  
In short concise sentences Zack laid out the entire issue with how outs and runs worked, and ultimately how bases were scored and how three outs meant the teams switched places. Some children asked questions, including the expected ones inquiring about throwing the ball to make it impossible for someone to hit - Zack was quick to point out that these were called "balls" and too many led to a walk, a free base, so long as the player didn't swing for them - and soon enough the basics of the game were understood. "Your chaperones will hand out little rulebooks later," Zack assured them, holding up a copy.  
  
As he did he looked out at the adults, most of whom seemed at least modestly interested in the game he was described as well. The real surprise, though, was the presence of President Roslin. She was finally out of her wheelchair and sitting in the bleachers, out of immediate sight of everyone. Billy was with her.  
  
Zack forced himself to turn his head so he didn't linger too long and give Roslin's presence away. "Time for a demonstration!", he shouted. He nodded to Barnes, who got down on his haunches and brought up his catcher's mitt. Apley flexed his knuckles and brought the bat up.  
  
"Hey, batter batter batter! Hey batter!"  
  
Apley smirked at Barnes' attempt to distract and was ready when Zack threw the ball at him. It was a fastball. Too fast for Apley, who swung a moment too late to hit. The ball instead sailed into Barnes' mitt.  
  
From a spot behind home plate, Samuel Anders called out "Strike one!" The pyramid player took his role as home plate umpire with relish. Zack had explained everything in the sport to him and made the rulebooks available; it didn't have the physical contact of Anders' own favored sport, but Anders had proven supportive regardless, and he and Kara Thrace had made sure to attend Registration Day.  
  
Barnes threw the ball back to Zack, who caught it effortlessly with his mitt-clad left hand. He started playing with the baseball for a moment before nodding, seeing Barnes' signal, and throwing a curveball. There was another swing from Apley.  
  
And this time, he was rewarded with a resounding _CRACK_.  
  
Wood met baseball and the white orb went flying into the air. Zack watched it sail over his head and toward the backfield, where the middle outfielder raced toward the fence to grab it. But it was useless; the ball sailed over the chainlink fence that had been put up by _Cloud 9_ work crews over the course of the past couple of days.  
  
Apley tossed the bat to his side and began a leisurely jog toward first base.  
  
"And that, everyone, is what we call a home run!", Zack declared, extending an arm to the fence. "If the ball leaves the field between the foul lines, everyone on base gets to score a run. That's the equivalent, more than the equivalent, of a deep corner shot for you pyramid fans. And now, while Lieutenant Apley gets to strut his way to Home plate and live a little dangerously from one-upping his captain…!" That prompted some laughs. "...we're going to start with some registrations! We'll form teams of…"  
  
  
  
  
Registration was well underway when Zack had an opening to walk over to Roslin and Billy. "Madame President." He nodded to her. "You came to see the start of training camp?"  
  
"It sounded interesting," Roslin answered. She nodded to the lines of children forming to sign up for teams. "And I think parents will be more tolerant of your baseball over pyramid."  
  
"Yeah, a lot of Moms never want to see their kid tackled." Zack crossed his arms and grinned. "Thanks for your support. I don't think _Cloud 9_ 's staff would have been willing to put up the baseball fields without you."  
  
"No thanks are necessary." Roslin shook her head. "It's for a worthy cause. With everything that's happened, it will be nice to see children getting to be children. And their parents will feel better."  
  
There was a tone under the sleeve of Zack's uniform. He rolled it back to reveal his multidevice. "Carrey here," he said.  
  
Magda spoke through the comm link. " _The relief convoy is here, Commander._ "  
  
"Woh, really? They're a day early?"  
  
" _Yes sir. And Captain Pakalos wants to see you at your earliest convenience._ "  
  
Zack sighed and looked back to where the registrations were ongoing. "I'd better take this." He nodded to Roslin. "I hope you enjoy your day, ma'am."  
  
"Thank you, Commander."  
  
Zack walked away to go find Apley. He'd need his XO to take over for him before beaming over to _Xinal_.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Aurora travels to the Citadel Station of Universe M4P2 (Mass Effect) to negotiate for assistance with the Citadel Council; Zack runs into an old friend when an Alliance supply convoy meets up with the Colonial Refugee Fleet.

Julia reminded herself, for the umpteenth time, that she wasn't allowed to arbitrarily ban anyone from liberty on the Citadel.  
  
It would make the job so much easier. Here she was, in her office, scrambling through the staff listings to assign leave periods to personnel, by order of those with the least amount of recent shore leave and the most time on the ship. But the way things were going, half of the crew would be over on the Citadel. Which meant more chance for trouble if anything.  
  
The door swished open and Meridina stepped into Julia's office. "Commander, I have a request to make of you. I desire to spend some time on the Citadel."  
  
"Shore leave?" Julia blinked. "You… actually want shore leave?"  
  
"I suppose that is accurate," Meridina said. "I wish to take Lucy for the purpose of her training."  
  
Julia blinked. "How… how does that work? I mean, training her in whatever it is, why do you need the Citadel for that?"  
  
Meridina seemed to consider her words very carefully for a moment. "It has to do with how _swevyra_ flows. How it works. I believe the term in your language would be 'the flow of life'."  
  
"Okay?"  
  
"To fully grasp her potential, Lucy must be exposed to the currents of teeming life. And not simply that to be found on a station like Arcturus or in the Defense Command building. The Citadel is the first place we have visited since beginning the training that has the necessary abundance of life to qualify for this task."  
  
"So you basically need to visit somewhere that's packed full of beings." Julia considered that. "Alright. Okay, I'll grant the leave for both of you. You can leave when Lucy's shift ends at 1600 and you'll be scheduled to return tomorrow morning by 1000."  
  
"More than sufficient, Commander."  
  
Julia nodded. "Alright, I'll put you and Lucy down for that." Julia brought up the list. "Shouldn't be too hard on things. Although you may face a line at the Transporter Stations with all of the crew who want to check things out."  
  
"I apologize if this has caused any undue disruption."  
  
"Two people I can handle. But when two thousand people all want liberty, I have to do a little juggling. Don't worry about it, I'll be fine." Julia grinned at her. "Go and enjoy… whatever it is you're going to do."  
  
"My thanks."  
  
  
  
  
Robert and Ledosh spent two hours getting briefed by Ambassador Udina on the Citadel Council's protocols and membership. As the white-clad Human ambassador spoke Robert got the feeling that half of the things he was saying about the Council were born from his own frustrations with them.  
  
"Ever since your contact with Captain Anderson, the Council has been nervous," Udina was saying as they piled into the lift that would carry them to the top floors of the Citadel Tower. "The aliens of the galaxy are already jealous and suspicious of Humanity's advancement since the First Contact War. Now your Alliance has come along and they're even more frightened of us. They fear that the United Systems will give Humanity an edge over the rest of the galaxy and oppose the Citadel Council's authority."  
  
"Captain Anderson expressed similar concerns at our first contact," Robert noted. "But is it really that bad?"  
  
Udina snorted. "I spend half of my time reassuring panicking alien delegates that the Systems Alliance is still acknowledging the interstellar law overseen by the Council." He sighed. "I can't imagine the United Systems sending two Humans to negotiate will do any favors to your position."  
  
"Ledosh isn't Human, he's Gersallian," Robert pointed out. "And they've been space-faring as long as the Asari have."  
  
"My apologies, Captain, but he _looks_ Human."  
  
"We are not unfamiliar with the surprise that merits," Ledosh said with his customary refined patience. "It is apparent that President Morgan did not anticipate the full extent of distrust that the Allied Systems labors under. I know he would have not hesitated to dispatch a Dorei or Alakin emissary had he known better."  
  
"It might not have done any good, Emissary Ledosh. This is about more than latent anti-Human prejudice in the Citadel. It's about the apparent threat that your Alliance poses to the Citadel's political authority in this universe."  
  
"We have experience with other concerns such as this, I am hopeful that diplomacy will triumph over base, speciest fears."  
  
The lift door opened. "You're about to find out," Udina muttered. He led them out of the lift and into a courtyard.  
  
The courtyard area began with a circular opening area and went on to a larger courtyard with wings spreading in both directions. Beings of multiple species of M4P2 milled about, giving some looks to the newcomers; Robert in his black-and-burgundy formal uniform and Ledosh in his fine robes. Udina's words weren't entirely an exaggeration; Robert could swear he was feeling the fear and distrust in the air. He had seen images to know that some of the figures around him were of the Council-seated races - Turians, Asari, and Salarians - but the short and bulbous species in the environmental suits were a new experience, as were the massive aliens with arms that hunched down to touch the ground as well, making him think of a gorilla.  
  
They passed by a skycab taxi panel and climbed stairs toward an extended platform. Three figures were standing beyond it, control panels beside them.  
  
Robert stared.  
  
He… had seen this place before, hadn't he? He could remember the heat and flame. The feeling of the end of a hard fight. The blue-eyed Turian with cybernetics all over his body, urging surrender. The voice vowing never to stop.  
  
No. There was business at hand. Robert forced those thoughts out as Ledosh commenced speaking. "...and honored Councillors, it is my honor to greet you on behalf of the Allied Systems."  
  
"Emissary Ledosh." The Asari Councillor, Tevos, nodded gently. "It is our pleasure to welcome a diplomatic mission from the United Systems. We have had much curiosity about your intentions."  
  
"I am afraid other matters have repeatedly delayed the official assignation of an ambassador to the Citadel." Ledosh extended a hand toward Robert. "This is Captain Robert Dale, commander of the _Aurora_."  
  
"We are familiar with Captain Dale." This was from the Salarian Councillor, Valern. He activated a light-based device over his forearm - Robert recognized it as an "omnitool", not unlike the multidevice on his own arm in function but definitely more sophisticated in appearance - and called up an image. "He was the Alliance officer who commenced direct first contact with Captain Anderson of the Systems Alliance several months ago."  
  
"Yes, Councillor." Robert stepped up beside Ledosh. "It's my honor to meet you and to visit the Citadel. We've heard so much about it since the contact."  
  
"But you're not here just for mere diplomacy, are you Captain?" Valern was looking over something. "You're here to seek the assistance of the Council."  
  
Robert didn't bother to deny it and Ledosh did not motion for him to stop. "Yes, for the same reason our Alliance was so late in getting diplomatic representation established."  
  
"But yet you managed to send an ambassador to your fellow Humans," the Turian - Councilor Sparatus - remarked bluntly. "That might suggest something of your priorities… and intentions."  
  
"The dispatching of Ambassador Weekes had already been finalized before the war broke out," Ledosh observed. "Our Council had yet to vote on the appointment to the Citadel due to the need to deliberate the preconditions the Council requires." By this Ledosh was specifically, if not directly, referring to the arms limitations in the Treaty of Farixen that restricted naval development by various races. "An error, certainly, and one they are currently rectifying. For the time being, the President has empowered me to negotiate with the Citadel Council."  
  
"We have already reviewed your credentials." Tevos glanced to either side, taking in her fellow Councillors' expressions, before she looked to them and continued. "We presume this has to do with your current war?"  
  
"It does," Ledosh said. "The Alliance believes that the Reich may pose a serious threat to the rest of the Multiverse. There is a possibility they will locate a Facility of the Darglan, a now-extinct species that my people encountered when we became space-faring. Their Facilities contain the capability of providing any who discover them with the interuniversal jump drive technology the Allied Systems employ."  
  
"The Systems Alliance is already prepared to give aid to the United Systems," Udina noted. "But since it would require our ships to be outfitted with the interuniversal technology, the Cabinet would prefer that an agreement be reached with the Citadel Council before we act."  
  
The Turian Councillor clearly didn't like the sound of that. "I fail to see the threat." Sparatus gave a dismissive wave with his three-fingered hand. "They are your enemy, not ours. And this idea of disseminating your technology to just one species is blatantly unacceptable."  
  
"I have authority from the President and Council to offer it to your species if you agree to assist us in the war."  
  
"I fail to see why we need to shed our blood in a war between Humans."  
  
Tevos frowned and looked over at her colleague. "I have examined Human history, Councillor. The Nazi Regime of Earth would prove a hostile foreign power if it ever achieved the interuniversal technology. Inevitably conflict would start."  
  
"Then we'll worry about that then," Sparatus insisted. "But I fail to see how we benefit from any arrangement with the United Systems. They only serve to foster Human aggression and lawlessness."  
  
"That is an outrageous accusation!" Udina slammed his fist down. "The Systems Alliance has been a willing supporter of this Council and the structure of interstellar law! We're not some Terminus scum for you to pass judgement on!"  
  
"Should this proposed situation come to pass, we would be at a disadvantage." Valern also spoke now. "I would suggest we further deliberate the matter in private session."  
  
"Of course," Ledosh said. "We will make available to you all information on the matter. I hope to speak with you again soon."  
  
Councillor Tevos nodded. "Emissary Ledosh, Captain Dale, please enjoy your stay on the Citadel."  
  
  
  
  
With the Council meeting ended they returned to Udina's office. "Now you see what I have to deal with," Udina remarked dismissively from his desk. "They're all a bunch of self-important jackasses."  
  
"The age of their institutions may have indeed bred unkind arrogance into their mentality," Ledosh conceded. "But I would counsel patience."  
  
Robert took the seat beside Ledosh. "I've only read enough to know their names. What are the Councillors like?"  
  
"Sparatus is a typical Turian. He considers himself a soldier, votes as Palaven demands, and when he doesn't have their instructions to fall back upon, he goes with whatever policy seems the most ordered to his sensibilities. He's a stubborn ass when it comes to anything new. Which often means he opposes anything Humanity might request from the Council that doesn't involve using us as a barrier to frustrate Batarian expansion." Udina poured himself a small drink from a nearby bottle. "Valern is more independent-minded. He'll vote however he feels necessary for Salarian interests. I suspect he's the most concerned about the Nazi threat. Salarians prefer to win their wars before the first shot is fired through intelligence operations. They have little hope of that if the Reich does gain the drive technology."  
  
"And the Asari?"  
  
"She likes to think herself as the mediator of the Council and the most reasonable being in the room. But she won't move ahead of whatever popular opinion is on Thessia, and for all of her talk about putting the needs of the galaxy first, she's like a mother panther when it comes to Asari interests." Udina considered things for a moment. "If you want to get her sympathy, you would need to appeal to the Asari as a whole and hope your advocates prevail in the debates. Getting a matriarch or two on your side wouldn't hurt."  
  
"Thank you for your advice, Ambassador Udina," Ledosh said.  
  
"You're welcome. As for the next round of discussions, I think it best, Captain Dale, if you allowed myself and Emissary Ledosh to do the talking. We'll have you there as an eyewitness if we need you."  
  
Robert gave a curious look to Ledosh. Ledosh merely nodded. "It is a reasonable request."  
  
"I'm not much of a diplomat, so I can't argue with that." Robert stood up. "Well, I'll leave you gentlemen to handle the fine terms of whatever we're proposing. Ambassador Udina, if I may ask…"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"It's been a few months since I had any chance for a proper leave. I'd like to see about taking a colleague out for a good dinner while we're on the Citadel. Would you have any suggestions?"  
  
"Hrm." Udina smiled a little. His omnitool came to life and he tapped at the controls for a moment. Robert looked down at his multidevice and accepted the incoming signal. "I would recommend the calamari," Udina said.  
  
"Thank you." Robert tapped his device's commkey. "Dale to _Aurora_. One to beam up."  
  
  
  
  
Meridina had selected the Zakera Ward to take Lucy through. They were wearing the robes of the _swevyra'se_ as opposed to uniforms and had gone down unarmed, save for Meridina's _lakesh_ , to avoid any problems with the Citadel's security service. Now they were weaving through the crowds of foot-traffic moving through one of Zakera's commercial areas.  
  
Lucy shifted through the crowds to keep up with Meridina. She was about to speak when a monotone-sounding voice called out to them. "Strangers," it said, "this one would like to know if you are aware of the Enkindlers and their gifts to the galaxy."  
  
Meridina turned and, like Lucy, faced the pinkish-skinned alien. Its central body was fairly small, the tip having lit up while it spoke, and it seemed to sway a bit while standing on some of its tentacles. Meridina bowed her head to the alien respectfully. "Some other time, perhaps, but I am quite interested in hearing about your beliefs."  
  
"This one urges others to not delay in discovering the truth. Have a pleasant day."  
  
They continued on through the Ward. "Is it just me, or was that a talking jellyfish?", Lucy asked. She had to shift slightly to avoid colliding with a short, stout alien in an environmental suit. "Oops, sorry!"  
  
"It was, yes. But I would appreciate it if you focused on the whole."  
  
"The whole?", Lucy asked her.  
  
Meridina stepped off to the side, near an entrance to what looked like an electronics shop. Lucy followed her. "Breathe in, Lucy. Let your _swevyra_ feel the life around it."  
  
"Oh, that sort of thing." Lucy nodded and grinned. "Okay." She closed her eyes and breathed in. Meridina had taught her how to calm her mind and sense things through her life force. With her eyes closed and that sense shut off, it was easier to concentrate on that sense that had been growing within her since 33LA. She felt like she was in a sea of light. Streams of the same coalesced and split around her. "I…" She swallowed. "I can feel it."  
  
Meridina smiled softly. "Good."  
  
"It's…" Lucy swallowed again as she tried to seek for the words to describe what she was feeling. "It's beautiful. It's so warm and bright."  
  
"That is the Flow of Life," Meridina explained. "It is not easy to feel aboard a starship, or even a normal space station. Not until you have become sensitive to it from long practice with your own _swevyra_. But here, among these multitudes? You need only open your _swevyra_ to feel it."  
  
"It's so…" Lucy drew in a breath. "This is what it's like for you? All of the time?"  
  
"It can be. As I said, you don't feel it as much when you only have a thousand or so beings around. But in the heart of this great habitat? Any could feel it. I suspect many of them do, even if they do not understand it."  
  
Lucy nodded. Her heart soared at the rich feeling of life around her, making her feel invigorated. She could even sense some of the emotions coming through. Not necessarily positive ones, in some cases. Joy, happiness, but also sorrow, despair, anger, frustration…  
  
… _pain_.  
  
Lucy's eyes opened wide. She could _feel_ the being's pain. She could feel the _fear_.  
  
"I feel it too." Meridina nodded. "This way."  
  
They worked their way back through the crowd. After moving down several more storefronts there was an obvious gap between them. A cry was coming from within the alley. But nobody in the crowd heard it, or if they did, they didn't seem to care.  
  
They stepped into the alley and moved down to halfway between the stores before it became evident what they were facing. Lucy recognized the light blue-suited alien as a Turian, with a brown-tinged complexion and reddish-brown eyes, kicking away at something at his feet.  
  
That something, Lucy realized, was another figure writhing in pain. Lucy didn't recognize this alien; he was in an environmental suit, but unlike the short alien she'd seen before this one's suit had a clear face-plate and two eyes faintly shining within, and the build looked more Human regardless of the three-fingered hand. "P-please stop," the alien begged. His accent was thick, and whenever he spoke a light on his helmet, near the mouth, lit up.  
  
"What were you looking at?!", the Turian demanded. "What were you looking to steal, suit rat?!"  
  
"I… didn't…"  
  
The protest earned the alien another kick to the gut. He wheezed a complaint.  
  
"He is telling the truth."  
  
Meridina's statement caused the Turian to look their way. Lucy sighed and crossed her arms in a nonchalant way.  
  
"Like you know anything," the attacker retorted. "It's a Quarian, they'll steal anything that's not nailed down behind a kinetic barrier. And sometimes even that stuff with how the little suit rats are with technology."  
  
Meridina shook her head slightly. "Whatever your… preconceptions of this being's species, I can tell you that he was only indulging mild curiosity. I have felt no falsehood from him."  
  
"Whatever. Go mind your own business."  
  
Lucy shook her head, figuring what was coming next.  
  
Meridina started walking toward the two beings. "I am sworn to protect the innocent," she informed the Turian. "Please." She held a hand up to him. "You are satisfied at this being's innocence. You will leave him alone."  
  
"I…" The Turian blinked. Meridina noted that with interest; she could feel the being's mind, used to order and firmness, resist her impression. She repeated herself with a little more power. "I guess he wasn't up to anything after all," the Turian finally declared. "And that'll show the suit rat what people here in Zakera Ward think of his kind."  
  
 _His kind._ Lucy felt a stab of hot anger at that term. It was easily changed in her mind to _her kind_. " _You know how it is with her kind. Do what you want, Patrick._ " And then had come the beatings and the other cruelties and…  
  
...Meridina's free hand settled on Lucy's arm as the Turian stalked out of the alley. "It is alright," she insisted.  
  
"Bigot," Lucy grumbled. "I ought to go back and…"  
  
"That is not the Light speaking, Lucy. That is darkness. You are seeking revenge, not justice, with that thought. Be calm."  
  
Lucy wasn't sure she was wrong or right. But at the first inkling of slight cold in her very core, she quickly snuffed the thought out. _He's not worth it_ , she insisted to herself, even as the image of batting the Turian across several walls briefly eased her frustration.  
  
Meridina stepped up to the remaining alien. She knelt down and put a hand on him. "You are safe now."  
  
"I've… I've got a broken rib," the being whimpered. "I thought he would kill me."  
  
Meridina settled a hand on the being's chest. She closed her eyes. "Lucy, pay attention to this, please." Since Lucy could be counted on to do so immediately, Meridina didn't bother wasting time. She focused her life force, drew upon the Flow around them, and felt that warm power surge through her very self. With the warm power she felt into this poor creature's body, felt the bruises and the broken bone, and felt the light begin to mend the injuries.  
  
"How… how are you doing that?", the alien asked.  
  
"I am a _swevyra'se_ of Gersal," Meridina answered. "I can heal with my own _swevyra_."  
  
"Life force," Lucy translated.  
  
"You are beings from the other universes, then?" The alien looked at them with what Lucy sensed to be awe and surprise. "I… I never imagined I'd see one of you so soon. I am Lan'Durah nar _Qwib-Qwib_."  
  
"I am Meridina. This is my student, Lucy Lucero." Meridina looked up at Lucy. "Please, assist me in helping him stand."  
  
Lucy stepped up and pulled Lan'Durah's left arm over her shoulders. She and Meridina easily lifted the Quarian to his feet. "I've read up on some of the species of this universe, but I don't remember seeing yours," Lucy said. "You're a… what was it?"  
  
"I'm a Quarian," Lan answered. "I'm here on Pilgrimage."  
  
"Pilgrimage?"  
  
"Yes. When we reach adulthood, Quarians are sent away from the Fleet to travel the galaxy."  
  
"How are you feeling?", Meridina asked him.  
  
"Better. My ribs still hurt." The Quarian looked at her. "Thank you. I did not think Humans cared for my people any more than the other species do, even Humans from another universe."  
  
"I am not Human, I am Gersallian," Meridina said simply.  
  
"They just look like us," Lucy added. "It's confusing to us too."  
  
"I… I see… unh."  
  
"You still have some bruising," Meridina warned him. "I am not so good a healer as to completely heal your injuries. Do you have somewhere safe to stay?"  
  
"There's a shelter about two hours' walk from here. It would only be ten minutes if we could rent a skycar, but…"  
  
"Thankfully we worked out conversion of our money into galactic standard here," Lucy said. She held up her left arm and the multidevice showing slightly under her robe cuff. "I'm guessing that as the student, I pay?"  
  
"I donate my salary from the Alliance to charity and the Temple," Meridina explained with a small smile. "Save a small portion I maintain for socialization purposes."  
  
"'Socialization purposes'?", Lucy asked.  
  
"Gifts," she clarified. "Lan'Durah, can you walk?"  
  
"I think so." When they let go he managed to maintain his balance. "Yes."  
  
"Then let us go. And you can tell us more about your people, and we can speak about ours. And thus knowledge is spread and the multiverse made a better place."  
  
  
  
  
It wasn't far from Transporter Station 3 to the _Aurora_ gym. Robert entered from the bow door and faced a number of his personnel doing weightlifting exercises on the machines to his right. On the left, others were doing aerobic workouts. The distinct smell of sweat from multiple sources created a sort of pungency in the atmosphere that brought back memories of high school sports training, made even more complicated by non-Human perspiration.  
  
He walked past the aerobic area to another series of mats meant for martial arts exercises. He was quite surprised to see something different from what he had expected.  
  
Instead of Angel and Julia going through their forms clad in sports bra and shorts, they were wearing martial arts robes - _'Gis', right?_ \- and moving slowly and in sync. At first he thought it was _t'ai chi_ since Julia occasionally did that and had failed to get Angel or himself to join, but the movements didn't seem quite…  
  
That was when his brain called attention to the figure in front of them, making the same movements and clad in the same kind of martial arts robe. Commander Worf was clearly in the lead, making a movement and the two miming it almost exactly. That, more than anything, was interesting as hell for Robert, and he said nothing until the big Klingon led them through what looked like a final movement with arms circling outward and then inward, hands coming together and stopping. After a final breath his posture relaxed. "Well done. That will be all for today."  
  
Angel and Julia nodded at him. "Are you interested in visiting the Citadel, Commander?", Julia asked him. "You'll be one of the easiest liberties I've arranged all day."  
  
Worf nodded respectfully. "Thank you, but I have other duties to attend to. Commander Kane and I will be discussing your Marine contingent's tactical employments this evening for our training exercises."  
  
"Alright, I understand. Just remember that the offer's open." Julia turned away.  
  
By this time Angel had stepped up to Robert. They briefly kissed. "You're late for the lesson," she said to him.  
  
"I'm not here for that," he answered. He held her hands. "I was actually coming to suggest dinner."  
  
"Sure," she replied. "The Lookout? Hargert's breaking out leftovers since so many crew want to visit the Citadel, but…"  
  
"Actually, that's what I was going to suggest," Robert replied. "Ambassador Udina directed me to a nice restaurant in one of the Wards, somewhere called the Silversun Strip. I thought you might like to make it a date."  
  
"A date." Angel smiled at him. "Really?"  
  
"Well, we haven't had one since we got back together," Robert pointed out. "It's been all Nazis and diplomats and Darglan Facilities and Cylons since. This is our first chance to celebrate getting back together with a proper date."  
  
"Huh." Angel seemed to think about it. In a way showing she had already made up her mind. "Good. Let me go change and I'll meet you at Transporter Station 2?"  
  
"I'll meet you there."  
  
  
  
  
Zack spent longer than he'd wanted conversing with Pakalos on the situation with the Fleet. It was annoying to have to repeat everything he'd already reported to Admiral Maran in his weekly updates and daily logs. Pakalos hadn't seen some of those reports, unfortunately, and wanted to be assured that there was no known risk of Cylon attack.  
  
Once that meeting was over with, Zack had then been waylaid by Pekanas, the Gersallian in charge of the convoy itself and distributing its materials, and been pulled into a conference call with Roslin, Adama, and Zarek on distribution of food packs, replicator stocks, and the other essentials being carried in the convoy.  
  
Altogether, this meant that it was well into the afternoon when he finally got to beam back to _Cloud 9_ and check up on Registration Day. Apley had outdone himself as usual in getting the teams organized and prepared. The younger children would be learning with T-ball or the Junior Little League rules - stuff like automated machine pitching or coach-pitching - and those of sufficient age would play straight-up regular baseball. Enough kids had signed from each age group that they would have small leagues to compete in.  
  
Kara and Anders met him as he walked up to the playing fields. "I think half of the kids in the Fleet will be playing," Anders said. "I should be jealous," he added with humor.  
  
"I'm sure plenty of them will go right to pyramid soon enough," Zack laughed. He shook hands with the athlete. "Seriously, thanks for this. Having the captain of one of the most popular sports teams from the Colonies endorsing this has been a big help."  
  
"Hey, it gives the kids something to do," Anders said.  
  
"And you," Kara pointed out.  
  
"Yeah, and me," he agreed.  
  
"Interesting sport," Kara said. "I would've read you for a more active one, though, Carrey."  
  
Zack smiled at that. "I've always loved baseball. Now, if you want a sport more like pyramid, next time you see her you should talk to Julia, I mean, Commander Andreys. She was team captain for the girls' basketball team back in High School. Won trophies and everything."  
  
"I might have to do that." Anders looked back. "Oh, there's someone here looking for you."  
  
"Oh?' Zack blinked. "Who?"  
  
"Someone pretty." There was a mischievous smirk on Kara's face. "Already looking to break hearts out here, Zack Carrey?"  
  
"I haven't had time," he retorted playfully, but he was wondering what they meant. "Who was it?"  
  
"I think she… wait, she's over there."  
  
Anders pointed toward the end of the fields and Zack looked over. A figure in white was waiting in the distance, one arm crossed over and gripping the other armor's elbow as if in anxious impatience. "I'd better go see what's up," Zack said. "See you in a couple of days for the start of training camp?"  
  
"Wouldn't miss it!"  
  
Zack gave Anders a thumbs up and started jogging over to the figure in white. Whomever she was, she was looking away, so Zack couldn't be sure of who she was. Caucasian, at least, dark hair… _wait_...  
  
She turned as he got within twenty feet. He looked at her face and stopped moving. _That's… how…?_  
  
"Clara?", Zack asked, incredulous.  
  
Clara Davis, resplendent in a white nurse's uniform, smiled widely at him and ran up to him. She grabbed him in a hug. "Zack! Zack, I don't believe it, I never thought…"  
  
Zack took her by the shoulders and stared at her. "Clara, what are you doing out here? I thought you were back on Earth?"  
  
"I was." She smiled widely. "But I... I wanted to come out here, Zack. Like you did. So I resigned from the at-home service and volunteered for the New Liberty Aid Corps."  
  
Zack's jaw was hanging open. He realized how silly he must look and forced it closed. "Well, I… wow, Clara. That was bold."  
  
Clara smiled sweetly at him. "I didn't think I'd see you again so soon. Right after I got out of training I was asked to join the medical staff for the convoy. With the war going on they were really short of nurses so… here I am!" She gestured to the park. "So, this is yours, right?"  
  
"Yeah. Something for the kids."  
  
Clara nodded. "Given everything these poor people have lost… that's really sweet of you, Zack."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
They looked toward each other for several seconds of quiet. Clara took a moment to check the multidevice on her right forearm. "Oh. Sorry, Zack, I need to… they'll want me back soon. They're sending us to _Galactica_ tonight to get orientated with Doctor Cottle and his nurses."  
  
"Ah." Zack nodded. "Well, they're good people. Doc Cottle, Admiral Adama… they'll treat you well." _Well, now that we've got that Cylon business out of the way anyway…_  
  
"Maybe you and I… I mean, I know you're doing the command thing and… well, maybe we can have dinner?" Clara swallowed. "I mean, no… no obligations, just a quiet dinner."  
  
"I… well…" It was Zack's turn to swallow and let his mind race. And his heart beat a little faster. He was still reeling from the surprise of seeing Clara here, and now that she was here, well… who knew? "I… Clara, I'm going to be pretty busy myself."  
  
He immediately felt like kicking himself when he saw Clara's expression reflect a feeling of rejection.  
  
"I'll let you know tomorrow," Zack promised, urgently. "Okay? I should know how my schedule's going to look over the next few days, maybe I can slip a few hours out for a dinner."  
  
The look on her face brightened a little. "I understand," she said. "I mean, the life of a nurse can be tough too, maybe I won't have time for dinner either…"  
  
"Yeah. Well, we'll see tomorrow, right?"  
  
"Right." She smiled a little. "Right." Clara took a step back. "So I'll just… I'll go now. Work."  
  
"Right." Zack nodded. "Work."  
  
He watched her leave and felt like every part of him was twisting into a knot. Clara, _out here?! It just… she was… why did she leave home?_ A thought struck him.  
  
 _Could it be because of me? Did she come out here hoping she'd see me one day?_  
  
Mock applause caused Zack to look to his right. Barnes was standing there, out of catcher gear but still in the _Koenig_ baseball uniform, continuing the slow CLAP CLAP CLAP of his mock applause. "Zack, Zack, Zack…"  
  
"You saw it was Clara?", Zack asked.  
  
"She was asking around for you," he answered. "She didn't see me, I was up to my ears in seven year olds signing up for the Junior League stuff." Barnes stepped up and poked Zack in the ribs. "Dude, you have to be the _dumbest_ jackass in this entire universe. Maybe even the Multiverse, but I think Rob might have you beat. Clara just asked you out on a date and you… dude, where is the Zack Carrey ladykiller extraordinaire I remember? Where's the guy who was the terror of every father in half of Kansas?"  
  
Zack snickered at that. "He grew up, I guess."


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Aurora travels to the Citadel Station of Universe M4P2 (Mass Effect) to negotiate for assistance with the Citadel Council; Zack runs into an old friend when an Alliance supply convoy meets up with the Colonial Refugee Fleet.

It felt strange to be in public wearing civilian clothing. Robert felt a little out of place regardless; his formal dinner suit was similar to what he'd once worn to the prom - black dinner jacket, light blue dress shirt with blue tie, dress shoes - and it seemed that dress ties had gone out of fashion in M4P2. The eyes drifting his way were often full of curiosity. Sometimes disbelief. _I suppose I look like I'm dressed up for Halloween_.  
  
Or it could have been Angel, he supposed.  
  
Angel was not the dress type. But she could still pull it off, and this was something he'd ordered to commemorate their getting back together, just in case they had a chance for a dinner like tonight's. It hadn't even caught up to them until they were in the Gl'mulli negotiations. The color was dark blue with light blue trim. It was a shoulderless dress that fit around her like a tube top, revealing her muscled shoulders and arms completely. It flowed down to her knees, with splits on each side that revealed her muscled, shapely legs with every step. He'd taken the time to re-comb; Angel had her hair pulled back into a ponytail. She'd applied some cosmetics, not normally her thing; blue eyeshadow and reddened cheeks.  
  
"This looks pretty expensive," Angel said as they went down the stairs to the restaurant Udina had recommended. Ahead of them another Human was standing arm-in-arm with an Asari, both dressed up. "Are you sure you can afford it?"  
  
"I looked over the menu prices and checked the going exchange rate for Alliance credits to M4P2 Galactic." He smirked. "I might have to sell a kidney after we're done, but I'll manage."  
  
Angel laughed at him. "You know, we could have settled for something cheaper."  
  
"Maybe." He took her hand. "But I think you deserve better. I… gave you a good scare, and a lot of it was from my bone-headed need to play the hero all the time."  
  
"Mmm. Let's see how dinner goes, and I might forgive you."  
  
They were next. The _maitre d'_ actually had something like a French accent. "Captain Dale of the _Aurora_ , plus one," Robert said. "Ambassador Udina recommended you."  
  
"The Ambassador is most gracious. Please, this way."  
  
They walked into the restaurant proper. Angel glanced down and noticed that they weren't just walking on a glass floor, but on what looked to be a fish tank set into the floor.  
  
They made it to the table. A well-dressed waitress came up and offered them menus before moving on. "Are you up for calamari?", Robert asked.  
  
Angel made a face. "Ew. No. I don't eat squid."  
  
"Well, thankfully they have a good selection, from the look of things. I guess we could start with an appetizer."  
  
"I never got the point of those. It just makes you less hungry for your meal."  
  
"I'll let Hargert know that the next time he serves up some of those treats before dinner."  
  
Angel made a face at him before smirking. "You've outdone yourself tonight. But I don't date you for your taste in fine dining."  
  
"What do you date me for? I mean, why did you decide you wanted to try again? Besides the 'we might die tomorrow' thing?"  
  
A mischievous, seductive little smirk crossed her face. "You mean beyond the obvious?"  
  
Robert blushed and smiled. "If by 'obvious' you mean things having to do with our bedroom, then yes."  
  
"Well…" She reached across the table and took his hands. "You're nice. I mean, you make friends, and you're kind to people, and you treat Cat like she's your little sister too. The only other times I've tried to date, guys resented how close Cat and I were. You never have."  
  
A small pang of guilt over some thoughts he'd had at times, jealous thoughts about where he ranked compared to Cat, didn't stop him from nodding. "What can I say? She reminds me of Susannah. A lot." Robert sighed. "I mean, they're not exactly alike, but…"  
  
"It's okay." Angel smiled at him. "I know what you meant."  
  
"I just hope she's enjoying her shore leave too."  
  
Angel gave him a look. The muscles in her arms tensed. "You and Julie let her come down here?"  
  
"She's staying in the Presidium. It's the safest place in the Citadel. And she knows not to stray and to contact us if there are any problems."  
  
Angel relaxed visibly. "Alright. Yeah, I suppose that is the safest area."  
  
"With all of the statues and aliens and such, I'm sure she's having the time of her life," Robert assured Angel.  
  
  
  
  
Caterina could hardly contain her glee while running along the lakeside walkways in the Presidium. That alone got her some attention from the locals; her purple "GEEK PRINCESS" shirt and pink skirt gave her a further exotic appearance compared to the 22nd Century fashions worn by the other Humans.  
  
"This place is amazing!", she proclaimed to herself. The lower gravity of .3Gs meant that skipping along quickly was hardly a problem. She could cover distance quite quickly when she moved to a new location. Whenever she saw a new alien species she quickly consulted her multi-device. So far she'd seen her first Turian, her first Salarian, a Volus, an Elcor, and a couple of Hanar. The Hanar were especially interesting, even if all they wanted to was to talk religion or whatever it was.  
  
Caterina came up toward the first of the lifts that went to the Citadel Tower. She didn't go that way though; she spotted something even more interesting. She went up to what looked like a model of a Mass Relay. The plaque claimed it was a Prothean trophy of sorts to celebrate their creation of the Mass Relays. She took a quick scan of it before moving on.  
  
She crossed to the other side of the Presidium and continued along the walkway. On her left Caterina noticed a large statue towering up over the side of the Presidium lake. She got closer and looked over the dark material of the statue. "Krogan Memorial," she read. "Krogan? I wonder if they're really that big." She consulted her multidevice, which showed her archival footage of big lizard men in armor charging through things and shooting guns. "Yikes!" _MP42 has some great aliens, but scary ones too_.  
  
After getting a really good look at the statue Caterina continued with her exploration. Ahead of her was an entrance to what looked like another shop or office. But the markings were different than any others she had seen. With her curiosity piqued, Caterina walked into the entrance. An Asari woman was behind a panel, conversing with a Salarian who departed a moment later. He seemed happy and content - at least Cat thought he did - to the point he virtually failed to notice her.  
  
"Hello." The Asari woman looked at Caterina. Her skin was more purple than blue, and she had violet face markings. Her suit looked like it was made to tease, with no material covering the belly or shoulders and other various gaps to show skin, but with more risque bits still completely covered. The Asari looked over Caterina for a moment. "That's an interesting set of clothing."  
  
"Um, yeah," Cat said. She blushed a little. "I sort of stand out, more than I thought I would. Uh… what is this place?"  
  
"You've come to the Consort Sha'ira," the Asari answered. "I am Lantaea, the receptionist today."  
  
"The Consort?" Caterina's blush deepened. She suddenly had a very good idea of what this place was. "Oh… uh… I see… I…"  
  
Lantaea laughed softly. "You're not the first Human to think that of the Consort. This is not a brothel. The Consort and her followers provide all sorts of companionship to those who come here. A shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen. Many come here to lay down their burdens and make their lives better."  
  
"So… you're like psychiatrists?", Cat asked.  
  
"We do not give therapy in that fashion. Our purpose is not to help with mental illness but to give comfort."  
  
"Oh. I… I see." Cat's blush didn't go away, but it did fade. "I'm terribly sorry for interrupting. How much is it to see the Consort then?"  
  
"Payments can vary. Comfort should not be out of price for any being," Lantaea answered. "The real limitation is time. I'm afraid the Consort's schedule is filled for the next several months."  
  
"Oh. Well, that's fine, I… won't be here. My ship leaves as soon as the talks are done, so..."  
  
"Oh. You must be from the universe-traveling ship that just arrived." Lantaea smiled at her. "Oh, that sounds so exciting. If I weren't entering my matron stage, well, I'd love to get to travel to other universes and see all of the other species that exist out there."   
  
"I know," Cat agreed ecstatically. "I feel the same way about exploring. I just love seeing new things. And all of the different species, there are so many in some of the other universes!"  
  
A voice called out from down the hall to Lantaea's right. "Lantaea?"  
  
Lantaea looked in that direction. "Yes, Consort?"  
  
"Ask our young visitor if she would like to speak to me. If so, send her back right away."  
  
"Oh. Of course." Lantaea looked at Caterina. "You don't know how lucky you are. I really encourage you to try."  
  
Caterina smiled and nodded. "Of course I will."  
  
"Go beyond the waiting seats and to your right, Sha'ira is back there."  
  
Caterina was bursting with curiosity as she began to walk through the greeting area. Other Asari were seated with members of various species, talking gently and holding hands or rubbing shoulders gently. Caterina only gave them a cursory glance while walking ahead and making the turn into the Consort's room. The Consort was waiting for her on one of the couches. She patted the seat beside her. "Come, sit down young lady."  
  
Caterina did so. The Consort looked at her and smiled. "Such an interesting choice of clothing. You stand out in the crowd of people. And your curiosity rivals any Asari maiden's."  
  
"I just… I've always loved science," Cat said. "And finding new things. That's what science is about… at least to me, I mean."  
  
"Yes. I can see that." Sha'ira offered her hand and Cat took it gingerly. "You seem reluctant."  
  
"Me? Oh, I just…" Cat blushed.  
  
"It's quite fine." Sha'ira shook her head. "I am not offended. And I understand."  
  
"Why did you want to see me?", Caterina asked. "I mean, you're so busy and all of that."  
  
"You are not the only one with curiosity." Sha'ira's blue eyes glinted in the light of the room. "To start, what is your name?"  
  
"Me? I'm Caterina. Caterina Delgado." Almost as an afterthought, she added, "Lieutenant Caterina Delgado, I mean. I'm the Science Officer on the Alliance _Starship Aurora_. United Alliance of Systems, I mean, not Systems Alliance. I'm sure that's confusing."  
  
"How fitting," Sha'ira said. "Please, tell me more…"  
  
  
  
  
It had taken the better part of an hour to secure a skycar taxi due to demand, but eventually they had one. Lucy found the controls simple enough after a few moments' examination. With the skycar they were able to go toward the furthest end of the Zakera Ward in a flight of several minutes. The area looked like it was on the edge of an industrial and warehouse district with more housing toward the center of the station. The non-descript blue building had markings tagged on it with alien languages. Lucy's multi-device scanned the graffiti and translated it; it consisted of a host of bigoted slurs and such filth. The actual proper markings identified it as the Pilgrims' Shelter.  
  
Lan stepped ahead of them and pressed a key on the door. "Viya, it's Lan. They're friendly. You can open the door."  
  
There was no response.  
  
Lan sighed. " _Keelah_. Viya, I'm not being coerced. If I were being coerced, I wouldn't mention that time you nearly caused a…"  
  
The door opened. Another Quarian moved into the doorway. This one had a violet-tinted face plate and what looked like a red headscarf that matched the primary color of her suit. "Lan, you _bosh'tet_. You went into that tech shop again, didn't you?"  
  
Lan coughed. "Well…"  
  
"I told you, that Turian is bad news." The Quarian girl, presumably Viya, looked at Meridina and Lucy. "And you brought Humans here? It's not like we can host them for dinner, Lan!"  
  
"They saved me," Lan said. "They're from the Alliance of the other universes, Viya!"  
  
"And I'm next in line for the Admiralty Board," Viya retorted.  
  
"We mean you no harm," Meridina said. "We wished to see Lan back safely due to his injuries. If you wish, we will depart."  
  
"That won't be necessary," another voice called out from within the building. A female Turian in what looked like red-hued combat armor stepped into view. Her complexion was light gray, with sky blue eyes, and Lucy noticed a pistol on her hip. "If they wanted to cause trouble, Viya, they would have started already."  
  
Viya sighed. "Fine. Come on, Lan. We need to get you patched up and make sure your suit wasn't damaged."  
  
Lan followed Viya around the corner. "Please step in," the female Turian said. "I don't want to leave this door open longer than I have to."  
  
Lucy and Meridina sensed the tension and obeyed immediately. The door sealed behind them. "I am Meridina, a Knight of Swenya's Order on Gersal," Meridina said as an introduction.  
  
"Lucy Lucero."  
  
"I am Oresta Deneri."  
  
"You seem to be concerned with potential trouble?", Meridina asked.  
  
Oresta sighed and looked toward a set of large doors nearby, the same that Viya had led Lan into. "There are a lot of people who consider Quarians to be easy marks for whatever vendettas stew in their tiny minds." Her expression softened toward the two. "I am happy to see that I am not the only one who considers Quarians worthy of protection."  
  
"Yeah, we've gotten the feeling it's not common," Lucy said.  
  
"Too many people close their minds and listen only to their prejudice." Oresta sighed. "Including the idea that Quarians are all thieves. It doesn't help when some of them act in ways that reinforce that prejudice. Some Quarians steal when they become desperate enough; a few because they're just bad and were exiled from the Migrant Fleet because of it. Mostly it's because they're starving, or because they don't quite realize what private property is. When you live in spaceships your whole life, the concept of privacy and individual belongings can be alien." Oresta shook her head. "And the ones who want honest work usually get turned away. Most of these people are just kids looking to bring home a useful piece of equipment so they can get accepted onto a ship in their Fleet. From what I've seen, they're lucky to make it back at all."  
  
"Lan explained his people's history to us," Meridina said. "What confuses me is why your Citadel Council did not help them find a world to resettle."  
  
"Garden worlds don't come cheaply, as you should know," Oresta pointed out. "And the Quarians unleashed a sentient AI race on the galaxy, so a lot of people believe they had it coming. Nobody wants to see a garden world written off as a Quarian world. They argue the resources of a garden world are put to better use by other species."  
  
"Gee, that sounds _familiar_ ," Lucy sighed.  
  
"I'm surprised that you don't know this already. Humans have already dealt with Quarians, I'm sure."  
  
"We are not from your galaxy, well, universe," Lucy explained. "We're from the United Alliance of Systems."  
  
Oresta stared at them. "Really? Because I figured those claims were just made up to cover for the Systems Alliance experimenting with new technology."  
  
"They are not. We can show you our vessel if you want."  
  
Lucy nodded. "I'm sure it's on all the local news channels. It usually is when we go somewhere new..."  
  
"That won't be necessary," Oresta said. "Whether you're just crazies going along with a Human trick or actually from another universe or whatever, what matters to me is that you're willing to help these people."  
  
"I am always willing to help the innocent," Meridina pledged. "Might we be of further assistance?"  
  
Lucy had been hoping she wouldn't say something like that, but since the offer was given she wouldn't contradict her instructor. _So much for training._  
  
Oresta seemed to think on it. "Alright. I could use some help. Some of our equipment is down, and I've got a few sick Quarian kids running high fevers after taking suit damage."  
  
"Lucy, I believe your technical expertise may come in handy here," Meridina stated. "I will tend to the sick."  
  
 _So I go from learning more about my power to… being a technician. Hooray._ When that won Lucy a sideways look from Meridina, she answered by sticking her tongue out.  
  
Nevertheless, she joined Meridina in following Oresta.  
  
  
  
  
Angel decided she enjoyed what she felt to be an overpriced cut of lamb and sparse portions of stir-fried vegetables and beef. The wine had been an expensive, if enjoyable, touch, and she felt just a bit tipsy after she and Robert left the restaurant arm-in-arm.  
  
It felt strange. But good. This was what two people were supposed to do when in a romantic relationship; actually have romance. No ranks, no briefings, no paperwork. A nice dinner and just talking about things.  
  
"We have to do this more often," Angel said to Robert.  
  
"Well… I do have one more kidney I could sell…" He smiled at her. "I'm glad you liked it. We haven't had an honest-to-God date since… what? The prom?"  
  
"That depends," Angel answered. "Do you count that night we had to eat out at the Burger King on HIghway 15?"  
  
"Didn't we have Susie and Cat with us?"  
  
"Yes, but they spent the entire time playing and studying."  
  
"Hrm. Maybe?"  
  
They shared a laugh at that. After following the stairs leading up and out of the restaurant they worked their way via walkways to the main level of the Silversun Strip. "Well, there are a few ways to finish the evening," Robert pointed out. "There's an arcade over there, a casino…"  
  
"...'Armax Arena'?" Angel smirked. "That sounds interesting." She looked at him and smiled. "But not something for a romantic date." She used her left arm to wrap around his shoulders and pull Robert close. Their lips touched into a kiss that grew in intensity. When she was done kissing him, she suggested, "Maybe we should just rent one of those skycars and explore the Citadel."  
  
"That sounds good to me," Robert answered. "Let's…"  
  
His multidevice beeped.  
  
"If that's Julia, you're going to need a new XO soon," Angel growled.  
  
Robert sighed and pressed the comm key on the unit. "Dale here."  
  
Much to Robert's relief, it wasn't Julia. " _Jarod here. Captain, I need to see you in Science Lab 1. It's urgent._ "  
  
Angel shook her head and sighed from frustration. _Dammit. One night. That's all I ask. I know we've got responsibilities but all I want is **one freaking night.**_  
  
Robert noticed how sour Angel was getting and replied, "I'll… be there shortly, Jarod. Dale out."  
  
Angel was biting into her lip. "I know," she said, already prepared for his likely protest. "I know, okay? I know you have to do this. I know you're the Captain and that things get hectic. I just..." Angel shook her head and sighed with exasperation. "Dammit, Robert, sometimes I wonder why I'm trying this, trying _us_ , again. If I didn't care so much for you, I'd have already given up."  
  
Robert swallowed. "I know. I'm… I can't tell you how grateful I am that we got to try again. Maybe when things get better we can… well, if it's Jarod calling me…"  
  
"...then it's obviously really important. 'Safety of the ship' important." Angel nodded. "Right. I understand. It's… it's okay." She forced a smile. "We got to have dinner. At least we got to finish the dinner, right?"  
  
"Yeah. That's the best part." Robert pressed his multidevice again. "Dale to Transporter Station Two. Two to beam up."  
  
Angel reached for and took his free hand before the transporter activated.  
  
  
  
  
Jarod watched Robert and Angel enter and winced. He hadn't realized it was _that_ kind of evening for Robert. He quickly looked back and started bringing up the findings. "What's going on, Jarod?"  
  
Jarod nodded to Data, who was sitting nearby at another console. "We were checking up on that data compiling program Caterina's been running on the 33LA data when we found something."  
  
"As in from the Darglan data?"  
  
"No. I wouldn't have called you back for that." Jarod hit a few keys and brought up a screen of communications data. "Someone's tried hacking into our systems with a VI smart virus."  
  
That caused Robert to frown. "What? How are they getting past our new firewalls?"  
  
"They didn't," Jarod assured them. "We have the virus trapped in a specialized drive tied into the computers. It was something I put together after the Cylons got to us, a little false command module to trick automated hacking systems from penetrating the actual systems."  
  
"I have been analyzing the virus in question," Data explained. "As Commander Jarod already specified, it is a virtual intelligence construct with enhanced data-mining and access siphoning capabilities. It was programmed to implant itself into the ship's library database and glean information through the communications system. This includes all regular updates you receive from Alliance Defense Command."  
  
Angel held up a hand. "I thought we had a monitoring program or whatever to keep someone from remotely trying something like this?"  
  
"We do," Jarod answered. "I've been going over it to see how it let this through our systems. But right now this virus is a priority. The last thing we need is for another to be sent that isn't tricked by my data trap."  
  
"This virus is tapping into our comms, right?", Robert asked. "It's trying to access critical data?"  
  
"It is," Data confirmed. "I have been analyzing the machine code, the format of the virus VI is unique and not on any records available to myself or to you."  
  
Angel crossed her arms. "So we show up at the Citadel and by the end of the night, someone is hacking us. Isn't that a coincidence?" The last sentence was said with particularly thick sarcasm. She looked at Jarod. "But you said something was urgent. It's not just this, is it?"  
  
"No." Jarod shook his head. "The VI is set to send regular updates into the Citadel's extranet transceivers every several hours. If we don't have it send an update soon, whoever sent it will know it's been caught."  
  
"And their next try may not be so easily discovered. Right." Robert nodded. "Feed it data that's not essential to Alliance security. Maybe that will tell us what they're looking for."  
  
"How about the day's declassified war updates?", Jarod recommended. "Battle reports, casualty lists, and basic strategic analysis findings. Nothing anyone won't find on our public sites anyway."  
  
"I like it." Robert leaned a little against the work station beside Jarod, looking intently at the screen. "Put it up."  
  
"Sending data now. I'll also include our paperwork for the last shift for good measure and a few other bits of minor data."  
  
"Go ahead and throw in the basic version of our report on the day's discussions," Robert added.  
  
"Right. Doing so now. I'm transferring the day to the command module."  
  
"And I will create a command path for the VI to access the _Aurora_ 's short-range communications array," Data added.  
  
"Keep me updated." Robert looked apologetically to Angel. "Walk you to your quarters?"  
  
Angel nodded. "Sure. The way things sound, you could end up having a busy night anyway. You'll just have to make it up to me sometime."  
  
  
  
  
Zack spent that evening's conference with Pakalos and Adama in a state of partial distraction. He made himself follow along enough that he knew what was being said, but beyond that all of his thoughts were about Clara. He was trying to wrap his head around the fact that she'd actually come out here. Homely, sweet Clara had left home and come into space. For him?  
  
"...offloading will still take another day, even with the transporters," Adama was saying. He gave Zack a look. "Commander, how many of your crew could you spare for helping to offload the convoy?"  
  
Zack almost missed the question. He thought for several moments longer than it should have taken him - if he'd been concentrating anyway - before answering, "Maybe a dozen or so crew, if we're not active with anything else. I can give you half of my crew if the _Koenig_ can go into operational standby. Powered down systems, that kind of thing."  
  
"An extra dozen or so personnel would help," Pakalos observed. "With the _Xinal_ present you can afford to go into standby."  
  
Zack nodded at that, although he couldn't quite hide his irritation at it. This would put more workload on his crew while they were still at least two to three months away from returning to Alliance space at the Refugee Fleet's current pace. While the Fleet had accepted his people well enough, materials rationing and the sheer lack of space limited the recreation that liberty could grant, even on trips to _Cloud 9_. "I'll inform my XO when we're out of the meeting. I can give you twenty-six officers and crew."  
  
"Have them report to Commander Druma, my Executive Officer," the Dorei woman instructed. They can join the work crews in fourteen standard hours?"  
  
"Sounds right."  
  
"Then I believe that is all the business we had to discuss?" Pakalos nodded to Admiral Adama. "By your leave, Admiral?"  
  
"This meeting is dismissed," Adama agreed.  
  
Fisk grumbled something under his breath and was the first one out. Pakalos didn't bother departing that way. She pressed the comm-bracelet on her left wrist and the _Xinal_ 's transporters whisked her away in a swirl of purple light.  
  
Zack stood from the table and started walking to the door. Before he could get to it Adama called out to him. He turned. "Yes, Admiral?"  
  
"Please, take a seat." Adama gestured to one of the empty chairs. By the time Zack took it Adama was sitting beside him. "So, what's your distraction?"  
  
"Hrm?"  
  
"I've been around long enough to recognize that look on a man's face," Adama stated.  
  
Zack thought about not saying anything. About just excusing it as deep thoughts and continuing on. But he stopped himself. He knew Adama meant well. "One of the volunteer nurses the convoy brought out to us is a girl, I mean, a woman I know, Clara Davis. She's from my world. I went to school with her."  
  
Adama replied with a nod of understanding. "And you didn't expect to see her out here?"  
  
"No. Never. She was always attached to our hometown." Zack shook his head. "It's me. She came out here because of me. She didn't know I was on station here, but it's why she came into space."  
  
There was no immediate response from the older man. "I see." Adama sat back in his chair. "You and this girl were close?"  
  
"Closer than I used to think," Zack admitted. "When we were young I pushed her away. I didn't think it would work out and I didn't want her heart to be broken. I… well, when I was that age, I was a heartbreaker. Always looking for girls."  
  
Adama nodded. "Some of us are at that age."  
  
"But now she's here." Zack sighed. "And a part of me is telling me that we could try to be something. And another part of me is reminding me why I walked away in the first place. I don't want to hurt her. I don't want her to be yet another broken heart I've left behind." Zack took in a breath. "Frankly, Admiral Adama, I don't deserve her."  
  
Adama had been listening silently while quaffing at his mug. When Zack was finished talking he nodded. "It's a tough decision." He crossed his arms. "Do you want my advice, Commander?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
"You're young. And when you're young, you think you've got time." Adama put his hands together in his lap. "You think you have all of the time in the world. But slowly, day by day, that time runs out. Suddenly you're older. And you realize that not only have you run low on time, but you never had that much to begin with." Adama leaned forward. "Especially in our line of work, Commander."  
  
Adama's words had Zack thinking. Thinking, among other things, about his father. About how time had run out there, just as it seemed things were working out.  
  
"And if I may be blunt, Commander… it's not your place to decide who Miss Davis deserves. That's her choice, not yours."  
  
There was no immediate response from Zack. He brought himself to nod after a few moments. "Yes. I guess you're right."  
  
Adama nodded. "Good. I'll talk to you later, Commander." He stood from the chair and walked out, leaving Zack alone with his thoughts.  
  
Zack came to a decision. He stood from the chair and left as well, heading toward the interior spaces of the _Galactica._   
  
  
  
  
Lucy decided there was something worse than trying to fix a broken down food paste processor that looked like it had been built out of spare parts, spit, and a bit of hope.  
  
Namely, doing that on behalf of what seemed to be a species of mechanics.  
  
Viya, the female Quarian who had been at the door, was hovering over her left shoulder. "No, look, the capacitor is…"  
  
"...completely fried," Lucy sighed.  
  
"But that was a high capacity unit!", another Quarian male protested. "Are you sure that it's not a fault in the wiring?"  
  
"Reasonably sure." Lucy sighed and glanced at her multidevice's holo-display. "Yes, you have quite a few faulty wires in here too. But the capacitor was overloaded by whomever used it last."  
  
"I was only getting a meal!", a third Quarian, a girl with an even younger-sounding voice than Viya, protested.  
  
" _Keelah_ , Dira, it's not like we're blaming you," came yet another voice.  
  
Lucy growled in frustration and closed her eyes. _Find your center. Find your center. No, you do not want to smack one of them across the head. Ugh, why did I end up playing mechanic for a group of mechanics?_ "There's a saying among Humans," she finally uttered. "'Too many cooks in the kitchen spoils the meal'."  
  
"Really?" That was the first male who promoted the idea of bad wiring. "I thought Humans always cooked in groups? I remember working for a restaurant in the Tayseri Ward…"  
  
Lucy shook her head. "It's a figure of speech. An analogy. What I'm saying is... having everyone standing around me throwing out suggestions isn't going to get this thing fixed any faster."  
  
"Please hurry, I'm hungry," yet another of the Quarians protested.  
  
Most of the others backed off. Viya knelt down beside her. "The capacitor shouldn't have fried like that. It was rated to twice the power draw that this processor uses."  
  
"Isn't that a bit inefficient?", Lucy asked her while opening another part of the device's frame.  
  
"We make do with what we can. Oresta isn't made of money."  
  
"Where does she get her funds?"  
  
"Well, we pitch in whenever one of us manages work," Viya answered. "And there are a few other shopkeepers or merchants who sympathize and give small donations. I hear C-Sec provides old material sometimes, she was in C-Sec once and they like having somewhere for Quarians to go. It reduces… trouble."  
  
Lucy frowned. "Your people shouldn't be treated like this. It's wrong."  
  
"It can't be helped. Many species still blame us for the Geth. It doesn't help that we exile our criminals, so many of the Quarians other aliens meet are our worst. Or people like me. In the Fleet, equipment is not owned by people. Anyone can use a tool as long as they put it back when they're done."  
  
"Oresta said something like that," Lucy noted. She used a screwdriver to pry open the last part of the frame. The distinct smell of smoke from an electrical fire wafted into her nostrils. She looked at the blackened interior and sighed. "There's your problem. That capacitor was faulty, it looks like it drew in too much energy and overloaded the device."  
  
" _Bosh'tet_ scavengers," Viya swore. "They must have known." The Quarian looked it over and sighed. "I was afraid of this. This unit is completely destroyed."  
  
"Where can you get another one?"  
  
"I can see if Oresta can afford it. But she just spent most of her budget on parts for our suits. And not all of the top suppliers will sell to us anyway." Viya activated her omnitool. It flickered as the hard-light projections finished powering up.  
  
"I'll love it if we ever upgrade to those," Lucy said. She held up her arm and tapped her multidevice. "These things are ultralight materials, but they still have a bit of bulk to them."  
  
"Stay away from these models then. My original omnitool was fried out by a virus some _bosh'tet_ loaded into our extranet site. This replacement barely functions." Viya tapped at the keys on it. "Maybe we can repair the unit? I might be able to get replacement parts…"  
  
"You'll be replacing so many that it'll be just as costly, and you'll probably get plenty of bad parts in there." Lucy thought it over and sighed. "To hell with it." She tapped the commkey on her multidevice. "Lucero to _Aurora_. Patch me through to Lieutenant Jupap."  
  
After a moment the Alakin operation officer's voice chirped over the line. " _Jupap here, Lieutenant Lucero. What can I do for you?_ "  
  
"Tell Chief Lostri that I'm calling in that favor. I need one of the backup replicator units at my position as soon as possible. I'll sign the requisition, don't worry."  
  
" _I see. I'll speak to the chief immediately and arrange the transport. Jupap out._ "  
  
Viya looked at Lucy. Despite the faceplate obscuring all but the two points of light that were her eyes, Lucy could imagine the quizzical expression that had to be on the Quarian girl's face. "What are you doing?"  
  
"I'm giving you a replicator," Lucy answered. "It'll use your raw biomass feed for the dispenser, and with better efficiency. And it's a design that won't fail for a long time."  
  
"You… you're just giving us a piece of your technology?" Viya was stunned. "You're allowed to do that? You won't run into any problems with license holders?"  
  
"I _am_ the license holder," Lucy declared. "Well, me and Jarod and Tom Barnes. Point is, if I want to let you use one so you can all actually eat, that's my choice, and I'm sure Jarod and Robert - Captain Dale, I mean - will back me."  
  
"As am I." Meridina walked up to them. "Lucy. I see you are doing well?"  
  
Viya backed away from them respectfully; Meridina in turn led Lucy into the far corner. "I didn't expect to be playing mechanic when we came down," Lucy admitted. "How did it go for you?"  
  
"Their sick will recover." Meridina smiled thinly. "I am happy to help where I can. And these people do need it. Do you not feel how the Flow is here?"  
  
Lucy hadn't been thinking of that. She thought on it and felt for that swell of living energy she'd felt earlier. It was there, but here it seemed… weaker. The warmth wasn't as great, the light not as intense. "What's wrong?"  
  
"You didn't feel the Flow when we were alongside the Refugee Fleet," Meridina pointed out. "I had not trained you to feel it yet, true, but even if you had known, it would still have lacked the brilliance of what I showed you earlier. This is why. The Flow of Life comes from Life itself, but Life has Light and it has Dark. As you know."  
  
Lucy thought back to her anger at the Turian beating Lan. And even further back, when her panic and fear drove that cold within her that zapped lightning into the Changeling at 33LA. "Yeah. I know."  
  
"In this area of the Citadel, there is despair and frustration and fear. And, yes, hate." Meridina shook her head. "These are the source of the darkness that can enter a heart. The Flow of Life reflects this; the Flow is colder, less vibrant."  
  
"Yeah." Lucy looked out at the Quarians in the shelter. Some were lying down, others were in corners talking. She could sense those kinds of emotions in them. The desire to go home, to return to what they knew, the fear they'd never go back and the despair that caused. Lingering animosity, even hatred, for the other species that treated them like this. "And then it reinforces itself. A self-reinforcing loop that creates misery and suffering. It makes people do evil things."  
  
Meridina nodded. "This is why Swenya created her Code. She recognized this pernicious cycle and knew that the only way to break it was to strengthen the Light. This is why we are called _swevyra'se_. The suffix is based on Old Gersallian, an addition to words to signify fortification and improvement. By following the Code, we strengthen not only our _swevyra_ , but the _swevyra_ of all, by using our Light to break the cycle of Darkness and to make the Flow of Life vibrant."  
  
"Why was it so vibrant back in the commercial district, though? I mean, some of those people had to be feeling dark things."  
  
"Yes. But not all. Many beings may not be always feeling things that are Light, but nor are they in Darkness. And Life inherently gravitates toward Light in that case. Darkness in the Flow comes when many in the same area are caught in it."  
  
"Wow. This is pretty heavy stuff, isn't it?"  
  
"I believe so, yes."  
  
Before the discussion could continue there was a tone from Lucy's multidevice. She tapped the commkey. "Lucero here."  
  
" _Lieutenant, we have your replicator unit ready. But I'm afraid we can't beam it to you. There's some form of mass energy field over your location._ "  
  
"Really?" Lucy looked at Meridina. "Where is Oresta?"  
  
"I believe she was taking a late dinner."  
  
"Standby, _Aurora_. I'll signal you when it's time."  
  
Meridina led Lucy out of the main room of the shelter and into the side halls. They went up a flight of stairs, passed by spare rooms occupied by more Quarians, and entered another mess hall. Oresta was alone eating. She looked up at them. "I would invite you to eat, but I don't have levo-compatible food here," she explained.  
  
"I understand." Meridina nodded. "Lucy has something to speak to you about."  
  
"Your food processor is fried beyond repair," Lucy explained. "I can get you a replicator unit to replace it, but you've got some kind of shield over the building."  
  
"Yes." Oresta set her utensil down. "I maintain a kinetic barrier over the building when I'm preparing to rest for the evening. It's not very powerful, but it keeps intruders out and prevents people from putting rounds through our walls." Oresta sighed. "Honestly, it's the only reason I get any sleep at all."  
  
"Can't you lower it?", Lucy asked. "If just for a few moments?"  
  
"I can't risk it," Oresta said. "The barrier's old and temperamental. Once it's been shut down, it takes an hour or longer for it to be ready to go back up. And that's on a good day."  
  
"So we're stuck in here?"  
  
"No. The barrier is one-way. You can walk out whenever you're ready," Oresta said. She put her hands together. "You just can't come back in."  
  
"But your food processor is down," Lucy pointed out. "The Quarians won't have anything to eat until I can get that replicator going."  
  
Oresta shook her head. "They'll survive the night. If you're that concerned, though, I'll be lowering the barrier in about eight to ten hours."  
  
Lucy frowned in frustration. Meridina set a hand on her shoulder. "It is an understandable limitation."  
  
"What if I can get your kinetic barrier back up and running immediately?", Lucy proposed. "Or find some other way to get around it? Would that work?"  
  
The Turian woman looked intently at Lucy. "You are not going to let this go, are you Lucero?"  
  
"I don't think they should have to go hungry," Lucy insisted. "Not if I can do anything to get this done."  
  
The two remained locked in a mutual gaze. Meridina was quite impressed with Lucy's will on the matter; certainly she was confident she could make this work.  
  
Finally Oresta sighed. "I'll tell you what. Go look over the barrier. Bring Viya with you, she helps me maintain it. Let me know what you find. If you can find a way to turn it off and back on without frying my system, I'll let you do it."  
  
Lucy answered with a smile. "Thank you."  
  
"Don't thank me until it works," Oresta insisted.  
  
The answer was a nod. Lucy turned away, intent to go get Viya and find a way to make this work.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Aurora travels to the Citadel Station of Universe M4P2 (Mass Effect) to negotiate for assistance with the Citadel Council; Zack runs into an old friend when an Alliance supply convoy meets up with the Colonial Refugee Fleet.

As he had expected, Robert got the call from Jarod right as he was ready to settle into bed. And so he had wearily put his uniform back on and trudged back to Science Lab 1 where Jarod and Data were looking over a display. Julia arrived a moment after he did. "Alright, what do we have?", Robert asked.  
  
"The virus went through all of the data we fed it," Jarod said. "It gleaned most of it and then transmitted into the extranet."  
  
"We attempted to track the data flow." Data shook his head. "However, the network architecture of the local galactic datanet presented too many issues with accurate tracking. We lost our trace of the data after several node changes, including networking into the Turian Hierarchy's military network."  
  
"So this is the Turians' doing?", Julia asked.  
  
"Perhaps. But it is just as likely that whoever planted the virus was tracking through their systems as a decoy," the android pointed out.  
  
"So we're back to square one." Robert sighed.  
  
"Not quite," Jarod said. "We analyzed the virus VI's approach to the data. It was trying to look like it was grabbing everything, but there were clear traces of a pre-programmed emphasis on certain data."  
  
"That being..?"  
  
"Reports from Universe S4W8," Data replied. "And all available material on the Alliance's war efforts, diplomatic initiatives, and current strategic position."  
  
"Someone wants to know how good or bad the war is going for us," Robert observed wryly. "And I'm betting I know who it is."  
  
"You think the Citadel Council is spying on us?", Julia asked.  
  
"The more they know about our needs, the more they can squeeze out of us," Robert pointed out. "From what I've heard and Udina said, the most likely suspects are the Salarians."  
  
"That is possible," Data agreed. "I would need a long period of study to compare Salarian coding language and practices to the VI virus."  
  
Julia shook her head. "They wouldn't make it that easy, If they're being sneaky, I mean, I think they'd try to implicate someone else's coding style."  
  
"Possibly the System Alliance's," Robert agreed. "They seemed awfully concerned about our relations with them."  
  
"In the meantime, we should probably shore up the computer defenses and prepare to let that drone go."  
  
Robert almost concurred with Julia's suggestion. But he began to think about the consequences to the mission. The Salarians, or whomever, would undoubtedly try again, and might not be so easily found the next time. Additionally, it was clear that the data they took was intended to play hardball.  
  
He smiled a little at his thought. "Actually, Julia, I have a better idea. Don't destroy it. Not yet."  
  
Julia looked at him. "Oh?"  
  
"Yes." He looked to Jarod and Data. "This thing wants to find out how the war's going. Let's give them a good idea of it. Let's bring their worst nightmare to life."  
  
Jarod eyed him for a moment before smiling widely. "Oh. I see."  
  
"You want us to plant information that would lead the Council to a favorable decision," Data said.  
  
"Not plant so much as… forecast." Robert leaned over them. "Let's start with a report from Defense Command on the counter-attacks near Grodni III…"  
  
  
  
  
 _Cloud 9_ was late in its night cycle. Late enough that the only remaining eatery open was the ship's bar, where the bartender was closing up for the night while the other workers swept up. Only a few people remained for late dinners.  
  
And only one table near the bar had two occupants.  
  
Clara had taken a few minutes to swap into a sleeveless green blouse with blue highlights and a matching knee-length skirt. She'd applied some eye shadow and lipstick on the way in. Zack, for his part, had quickly transported back to _Koenig_ and used precious replicator rations to get a button down shirt, red primarily, and matching pants.  
  
Now, slightly-unfinished meals sat between them, along with a glasses of port wine. Zack looked self-consciously at the wine and felt thankful Opani had stocked some detoxicants from _Aurora_ before they left. Wine wasn't as bad as harder stuff, but the last thing he wanted was to dip back toward the bottle.  
  
Clara had never taken the smile off her face from the start of the meal. "Thank you," she said.  
  
"Hrm?"  
  
"For tonight. For this." Clara gestured to the table. "I had the feeling earlier that you weren't happy to see me. I thought that maybe you had talked to Julia and she'd, well, reciprocated I guess."  
  
Zack shook his head. "No. No, she did not reciprocate when I told her." He sighed. "After all of these years, I got my answer."  
  
"i'm… sorry," she managed in reply. "I suppose… it's best that you got your answer, at least?"  
  
"I guess."  
  
"So if you and her aren't…" Clara stopped. "You didn't seem happy to see me today, that's all I'm wondering."  
  
"I was more stunned than anything," Zack admitted. "And… well, I honestly felt this strange mix of flattered and, I don't know, sadness I guess. That you uprooted your life because you wanted to follow me into space."  
  
"I don't regret it, Zack," Clara insisted. "It's so wonderful out here."  
  
"It is," Zack admitted. "That's not... " He sighed and tried to find the right words. "I've always felt, Clara, that you deserved better than me."  
  
Clara giggled at that. "Really? I deserve better? What do you think is better than you? Look at yourself, Zack. You're not the sports star heartbreaker of the county anymore. You're commanding a starship, you're doing responsible things… you're a _hero_ now, you know that right?"  
  
"So I've been told by a few people."  
  
"Back on New Liberty, you and Julie Andreys and Rob Dale and the others… they respect you more than anything. And all of the people in this Fleet can't say anything bad about you. They talk about you saving one of their ships from being blown up and helping to rescue the last survivors from their homeworld."  
  
Zack nodded. _They don't talk about things like 33LA, do they?_ "I see your point."  
  
"So, I want you to understand one thing perfectly, Zachary Carrey." Clara reached forward and took his hands with her's. "You deserve to be happy. And…" She swallowed nervously. "...if you want to…"  
  
Zack felt himself swallow. It was almost surprising how fast things were now moving, and they made it even harder for him to even consider saying no. "That's… wow. I…" He searched for the right words to say. "I know it hurt you back in school when I…"  
  
She shook her head. "That was back in school. And we were different."  
  
"I'll say." Zack looked into her blue eyes; twin pools of brilliance that seemed to reflect the assertive and gentle woman Clara had grown into being. They had a confidence to them she had lacked all of those years ago. He realized how much he enjoyed that. How much he enjoyed having her around. Someone who he could be himself with and not have the baggage of everything that had happened over the past few years.  
  
The night wouldn't end with the late dinner after all.  
  
  
  
  
Lucy felt there was only one possible explanation for what she had before her.  
  
Universe M4P2 technology actively hated her.  
  
The kinetic barrier generator that Oresta maintained was as bad as the dead food processor. Cobbled together, barely functioning, and looking ready to shut down for good if it was glared at the wrong way… and Lucy was very much glaring at it.  
  
"Ancestors, it is a miracle that this piece of junk still works," Viya said.  
  
"I'll say. And getting you a forcefield generator is an entirely different beast than a replicator. That's defense technology."  
  
"So what do we do?", Viya asked. "Nobody's going to starve to death. But there's at least ten of our people who didn't have anything to eat."  
  
Lucy grunted with frustration and sat back from the side of the barrier generator. "Well, I can't tell Oresta we can make this work. She's right; if this thing gets turned off and turned right back on, it'll blow a fuse at the very least."  
  
"Is there an alternative?", the young Quarian asked.  
  
Lucy thought about it. The problem was that there were too many failure points. The kind of work to get around them wouldn't be done for hours. Almost to the point when it would be time to turn it off anyway. It'd be for nothing.  
  
"I would need equipment from the _Aurora_ ," Lucy said. "And that would mean needing to get back within the field."  
  
"Well, maybe you can get your tools transported down as well?", Viya asked. "And then we could fix the barrier. How long would it take?"  
  
Lucy looked over the parts. She'd need to replace the main power supply, the capacitors, or install shunts to help absorb the power draw. "Fifteen minutes if I'm fast."  
  
"Then we can do it in ten," Viya said.  
  
"Oresta will probably tell us to wait until the morning anyway. She seems pretty worried that people will attack your shelter."  
  
"She's probably right. The local Eclipse band tried to make her pay protection once. She called C-Sec and they arrested one of the Eclipse leaders on the Citadel." Viya shuddered.   
  
"Eclipse being a gang of some sort?", Lucy asked.  
  
"Mercenaries, gangs, it's the same thing," Viya replied with anger. "They pick on everyone. And they were angry with us for getting their boss arrested. One night they came and tried to kill us all. Oresta and a few of the others managed to hold them off until C-Sec arrived, but it was too close. One of my friends nearly died from getting a wound and suit puncture. That's why Oresta bought this piece of garbage in the first place."  
  
"We probably don't want them on to show up while we're doing this then." Lucy sighed and stood up. "Well, I think that's all we can do. I'll be back in the morning with some parts and that replicator and we'll get everything set up." She stifled a yawn. "And then I'll be off to duty."  
  
"Thank you for this," Viya said. "You've put a lot of effort into this work for us."  
  
"It's nothing." Lucy shook her head. "I just hate seeing people treated like this. I saw it back home too. I saw Human beings treating other Human beings like animals."  
  
"What did you do about it?"  
  
"I reported it to the authorities." Terrible memories shifted through Lucy's head. "And because of that, the man in charge had me kidnapped and gave me as a plaything to his son to torture for fun." Lucy quivered at the memories of what Patrick Duffy had done to her in that dark room.  
  
Viya's hand touched her shoulder. " _Keelah_. That sounds horrible. Thank the ancestors that you got away."  
  
"My friends rescued me." Lucy sucked in a breath and forced those old memories out. That would never happen to her again. Never. "Working together. And then we all worked together to…"  
  
She stopped. Could it be that simple?  
  
"To what?", Viya asked.  
  
"Of course," Lucy said. "It should… it… the kinetic barrier…!" She sprang to her feet and took Viya's hand. "Let's get your friends. I know how to get that replicator here!"  
  
  
  
  
Meridina watched with quiet joy as Lucy finished her work with the others. "Does everyone have their omnitools ready?" A chorus of affirmatives answered her. Lucy tapped her commkey. "Lucero to Transporter Station 4. Do you still have my order ready?"  
  
" _We do, sir. But that field's still keeping us from beaming it._ "  
  
"Increase the subspace tunnel's power to twenty percent above normal. That should handle the distortion from the kinetic barrier."  
  
" _Doing so now… but I still can't get a proper lock._ "  
  
"Let me handle that." She looked to the others. "Listen, in order to complete the transport, our ship's system needs a solid signal or target lock, and the kinetic barrier makes that very hard. By linking all of your omnitools together and connecting them to my multidevice, we can create a solid signal for them to lock onto. Is everyone ready?"  
  
The Quarians began operating their tools en masse. Lucy's multidevice confirmed the growing networked connection. Once they were all linked she called back. "What about now?"  
  
" _Trying now… it's working. I've got a lock._ "  
  
"Send it down."  
  
White light appeared at a corner of the room. Lucy noticed it wasn't as smooth as usual - the kinetic barrier's mass effect field was clearly distorting the subspace tunnel - but with the power behind it the tunnel could be sustained long enough for the matter to shift through.  
  
One perfectly functional replicator unit now sat on the ground.  
  
"We got it. Thank you, Transporter Station," Lucy said energetically. "Lucero out."  
  
The Quarians milled around the device, but all were ready to accept Lucy's direction on installation. She took charge and made sure everything was installed as it should be. It was marvelous to see how well the Quarians learned the new technology and what it showed about their technical prowess. Lucy hoped that knowledge would do them well; some might even be able to gift what they learned to their Fleet in order to go home.  
  
Soon enough, the first plates of dextro-amino food product were appearing. The residents of the shelter cheered the sight; the hungry among them were quick to take advantage of the new source of food. "Mmm. This is better than the nutrient paste," Lan'Durah insisted. "It almost tastes like _real_ food!"  
  
Lucy giggled at that. "I never thought I'd hear someone say that about…" She stopped to yawn. "...replicated food."  
  
"Thank you so much!", a Quarian girl cried out. "I was ready to start eating the inside of my suit, I was so hungry!"  
  
Lucy accepted the handshakes and nods and applause on her way to Meridina's side. She yawned again when she got there. "I need some sleep," Lucy admitted.  
  
"Yes." Meridina's face beamed with pride. "You did well, Lucy. Do you feel it?"  
  
Lucy stopped for a moment and felt for the energy around her. "It's… brighter. Warmer." She smiled.  
  
Meridina matched that smile. "Yes. Thanks to your actions, these people are feeling joy. The Light is brighter within them now."  
  
"Just by giving them food."  
  
"No. Not just that." Meridina set a hand on Lucy's shoulder. "By giving them hope. You have reminded them that there are people in the world who follow the Light and will not show hatred to them. You have strengthened the Flow of Life." Meridina's eyes sparkled with happiness. "This is what it means to be _swevyra'se_ , student."  
  
Lucy nodded. The smile was still on her face.  
  
"We should return to the _Aurora_. Preferably before you fall asleep where you stand." Meridina's eyes betrayed the hint of mirth within. "Let us say our goodbyes and depart."  
  
  
  
  
There was a great deal of satisfaction for Robert when he returned to bed. _All's fair in espionage, I guess_ , he thought to himself as he laid down. He was tired enough to go to sleep rather quickly.  
  
He soon wished he hadn't.  
  
The dream started. He was back in the Citadel Council's chamber. Flames licked everywhere. The Turian with blue eyes and cybernetic enhancements was standing there. "Those who serve will survive," he said. "If you continue to resist, we'll all die."  
  
"Serve what?", Robert called out.  
  
Everything went dark. A reddish tint filled the air. And then there was a thunderous sound, like a horn blown through a sound synthesizer, mechanical and utterly alien.  
  
He looked up to see a four-legged _thing_ \- a creature, a machine, he wasn't sure - stomping over him. They were in the Wards of the Citadel. Flames flickered everywhere, consuming bodies. Creatures, species, he'd never recognized abounded around him. Every few moments they seemed to change, becoming different, as if new sets of beings were replacing the other ones. On and on, even as that horrible sound echoed again, an unending cycle of death.  
  
There was a loud tone.  
  
Robert woke up.  
  
His mind was slow and bleary. He glanced at his chronometer; 0320. _Another nightmare._ He rubbed at his head and drew in a breath.  
  
The tone went off again.  
  
His sleepy mind quickly realized what it was. He reached over to his dresser and hit the key to activate the intercom. "Dale here," he said, groggy.  
  
" _Captain._ " The voice was that of Lieutenant Prymi. "' _We're getting an encoded message relayed through the Systems Alliance communications network. It's from Admiral Maran and is marked 'Extremely Urgent'._ "  
  
Robert breathed in a sigh and rubbed his eyes. "Alright." He slipped out of bed. "Relay it to my quarters."  
  
" _Right away, sir_."  
  
Robert walked over to his desk and activated his systems. "Computer, authorize opening of message, personal code Dale Tango Echo Kilo Lima Nine Three."  
  
The computer beeped compliance. Text and relevant astrographical data popped up on the screen.  
  
Robert felt his stomach twist as he read what was written within.  
  
  
  
  
Artificial daylight shined in Zack's eyes when he woke up. That confused him for a moment. The _Koenig_ had no windows, how did…  
  
 _Oh_.  
  
He remembered, groggily, that he wasn't in his bunk on _Koenig_. He was in an actual bed. With sheets and everything. His multidevice was sitting on the nearby dresser, displaying a time that was not too late and promised of at least some time before his crew would wonder where he went off to.  
  
Zack turned his head the other way and saw the naked shoulders and back of Clara. His right hand reached up and touched her back gently. His finger ran up and down her spine and over her shoulder blades.  
  
After a couple moments of this there was a giggle. Clara rolled over and on top of him. A happy little noise came from her throat before she gave him a deep kiss that brought every sleepy nerve to full wakefulness. His heart pounded in his chest. "Good morning," he said after the kiss ended.  
  
"Good morning," she answered. She pressed herself against him and settled her head beside his. Her blue eyes seemed to sparkle in the light coming through the window. "Last night was…"  
  
"Indescribable," Zack murmured happily.  
  
"I was going to go for incredible," Clara corrected softly. "But they both work." She kissed him on the cheek. "How do you feel, lover?"  
  
"I feel…" Zack closed his eyes and thought on it for a moment. And he realized what had happened. What he felt like now, what had been missing. "I feel… like I'm not alone anymore."  
  
"That's good." Clara's breath was warm on his cheek. "I don't want to scare you, Zack, but I have to say…"  
  
"Hrm?" He used his right arm, which felt like its blood flow was being slowly interrupted, to pull her closer. As if she could get any closer...  
  
"...that I think I might be in love."  
  
Once upon a time, Zack might have been scared of those words. "With me?"  
  
"Why not?"  
  
Zack sighed. "I used to be a jerk back in school."  
  
"Not always," she pointed out. "You still cared for Tom, no matter what anyone else thought of him. You weren't mean to people, maybe a little selfish, but you weren't mean and you even tried to protect me with…" She giggled. "...what happened under the bleachers, and after last night I know you made a claim that was a complete lie."  
  
Zack blushed at that. "Yeah, I guess. But it worked. Nobody poked fun of you."  
  
"True." Clara kissed his chin. "You're not that skirt-chasing horndog anymore, Zack," she insisted. "You're grown up. You're responsible. You deserve to be happy."  
  
Zack felt a tear in his eye at that. "Yeah." He turned his head and put his left hand on Clara's cheek. "And so do you." He swallowed. "And I feel like I'm in love with you too. You've always been someone I could think about as… I mean, someone I had feelings for. And that's why I'm not sure about…" He stopped and thought of what he was about to say. "I have duties now and all, so I'm not sure how often we can be together. I mean… once we arrive in Alliance space, I might be ordered elsewhere."  
  
"I know," Clara said. She took his left hand with her's. "And I'm okay with that. But right now, we're here, we're together, and we're in love. That's enough for me. Is it enough for you?"  
  
Zack didn't have to think twice on his answer. Not after so much time being alone, pining for someone he couldn't have, and knowing what that was doing to him on the inside. "It is," he assured Clara. "It's more than enough."  
  
And with that said, he kissed her as deeply as she had kissed him.  
  
  
  
  
Robert was getting ready to beam down to the Citadel Embassies when there was a knock on the door. "Come in," he said, pulling his uniform jacket on. He had expected to see Angel or maybe Julia.  
  
Instead, it was Caterina who stood in the doorway. "Um… hi," she said. She was in her uniform already, with the uniform skirt in place of pants.  
  
"Cat?" He blinked. "Don't take this the wrong way but… what are you doing here? I thought you were going to Science Lab 1 to help Data and Jarod on that Darglan data?"  
  
"Oh, I am. But I needed to make sure I got this message to you," she said. "Um, yesterday, when I was down in the Presidium and everything… I met this lady. Asari lady. Her name is Sha'ira and she's called the Consort and I know how that sounds but it wasn't like that and…"  
  
"Cat, a breath?"  
  
Cat stopped, as if his command was the only reason to take that necessary breath. "She wants to see you, Rob," Cat said. "It was sort of odd, she knew things about us… and she wants to see you."  
  
 _Now that sounds totally suspicious, doesn't it?_ , Robert mulled to himself. He nodded. "Alright. I'll… well, I'm due at Ambassador Udina's office in ten minutes, Cat, so I don't have time right now. But I'll try to get to her, okay?"  
  
"Yeah. I understand." Cat nodded. She turned to leave before stopping and looking back. "And I think Angel is, like, twenty percent happier now. She must have really enjoyed last night."  
  
"Not as much as she might have," Robert sighed. Seeing Cat's bewildered look he blushed. "Not what I meant!", he added hastily. "We only got to have dinner, I mean. Then Jarod called me back."  
  
"Oh." Cat nodded. "Okay, I get it. I'd better get going now, Jarod was going to make us waffles for breakfast, and he's good at that!" A look came over her face. "Of course, he's good at everything…" She sighed and on that note walked out of the door.  
  
  
  
  
Robert arrived while Udina and Ledosh were going over something. "They are squeezing you," Udina declared. "These terms are outrageous."  
  
"Ambassador, _Mastrash_."  
  
They looked up and over at him. "Ah, Captain, good morning," Ledosh said.  
  
"Captain Dale." Udina nodded, but he didn't look entirely pleased. "I wasn't aware you'd been called for. You may not be needed in the Council today, Captain. Especially if the talks fail, as they might given the Council's unacceptable behavior."  
  
"Last night the Council gave us preliminary items, requirements for their support and what support they would give." Ledosh seemed serene next to Udina's irritation. "They are rather… extortionate."  
  
"Extortion is a good term for this, Emissary Ledosh," Udina grumbled.  
  
"What terms?", Robert asked. "Obviously they'd get IU drives."  
  
"Yes," Udina said. "But the Systems Alliance would be forbidden from using drives on any ships not sent to the front, and Council-appointed officers would be placed on each ship to enforce compliance. And that's not all!"  
  
Ledosh handed Robert the list. He read it over and sighed. The Council was essentially demanding the Alliance all but submit to Council authority on several matters. Some didn't sound off. One was for limitations on the amount of Alliance ships - especially dreadnoughts - that would be assigned to M4P2. But the other terms were excessive; trade barrier rules favorable to the Council races; the Alliance would be forced to submit any and all diplomatic disputes in M4P2 to Citadel Council arbitration and would be forbidden from pursuing treaties without Council approval; the Citadel would have the power to veto new Alliance colonial settlements and defensive installations; on top of the IU drive technology, the Alliance would be required to immediately provide technology, free of any compensation, in virtually every area that they had an edge over the Citadel Council's members, and were not allowed to share any technology or materials directly with Earth and the Systems Alliance. "They're even demanding territorial concessions in S4W8, I see," Robert said. "And resource concessions in our M4P2 colonies. The right to patrol Alliance space to enforce Citadel interstellar law." He smirked as he finished the list. "I was almost expecting a term requiring that the Alliance Senate seat a Citadel delegate with veto rights."  
  
"These terms are rather harsh, which is why I believe they may be a feint of some sorts."  
  
"It sounds like that old trick in compromising, asking too much so that you can 'compromise' it down to what you actually want," Robert said. "Because I figure that what they want is future security against our Alliance and the Systems Alliance opposing them directly. The drives alone might not be enough."  
  
"We will see when our talks resume, as they will shortly," Ledosh said.  
  
  
  
  
The Council was already in place when Robert followed Ledosh and Udina into place. "We have examined the terms provided last night," Ledosh said. "I fear I must dispute some of them."  
  
"That is reasonable, Emissary Ledosh," Councillor Tevos said. "And unnecessary. After further discussion last night and this morning, we have decided to withdraw or revise many of them ourselves."  
  
Udina looked surprised at that. Robert sighed in relief, although not the relief they would assume he felt.  
  
Ledosh nodded. "I see. Then let us discuss matters."  
  
"It has become clear to us that the risk of this Third Reich salvaging the interuniversal drive is greater than we had presumed," Valern said. "The Citadel Council must act to protect this galaxy."  
  
"Of course. And the Allied Systems are more than willing to make necessary concessions to your security, so long as they do not damage our own security needs in this universe. The request for the Alliance to sign your Treaty of Farixen and limit itself to only four dreadnoughts in this universe during peacetime, for instance, is one that we can eminently agree upon." Ledosh held up a noteputer and tapped several keys. "I believe the other terms can be negotiated upon, as stated. Do you have your revised starting terms?"  
  
"We do," Sparatus said. He started operating his omnitool, bringing up a list on the holographic screen in front of the address platform. Robert noted that they had watered down several of the terms; evidently they'd decided that the threat from the Reich was great enough to not try and drag excessive concessions from the Alliance. _Although they still want a veto over the UAS signing alliances with species or governments in M4P2. They are_ really _paranoid about us joining with the Systems Alliance._  
  
Ledosh examined the terms carefully. "I believe these terms, as a starting point, will work. I see no blatant contradictions with President Morgan's instructions."  
  
 _Now's the time to drop the bomb._ Robert stepped forward politely. "Gentlemen and lady of the Council, I feel there's something I need to share with you. New intelligence that came to me directly from Defense Command last night."  
  
Udina had a look of irritation. Ledosh's gaze was less hostile, but still firm; he understood something crucial was about to be revealed.  
  
"You may speak, Captain," Tevos said.  
  
"Thank you." Robert held up his multidevice and used it to transmit the report he'd received, including map data. "As you know, there is a Darglan Facility in S4W8 that could provide the Reich the means to manufacture its own IU drives. Once we learned of its coordinates, Alliance Defense Command arranged for stealth probes to be dispatched to the region. These probes lack the sufficient sensor capability to actually find the Facility, but they might have helped narrow down the location. What they have found instead, however, is this…" Robert brought up the second bit of map data; the area of space, including the fringe of Reich-held territory, now showed several icons: Nazi swastika emblems. "The Reich has deployed multiple scouting vessels to the region. They are currently maintaining active, wide-band scans."  
  
Udina frowned. "You're saying they know where it is."  
  
"Or they at least have an idea."  
  
"How could they have learned the coordinates?", Ledosh asked. "They can't have penetrated our security…"  
  
"Indications are that this is new," Robert explained. "Defense Command believes that they arrived at this by process of elimination; they knew we destroyed something on 33LA, so they examined sensor logs of the region. Eventually they may have found logs from a ship refined enough to detect the same telltale evidence of a dimensionally-transcendental field that led us to 33LA."  
  
"Then they would have needed to go through all existing records to find similar readings." Valern put a hand to his chin. "Perhaps we have time then. They clearly do not have the technology to easily pinpoint the coordinates in question."  
  
Robert nodded. "That's our estimation too. Defense Command analysts suspect they could spend anywhere from six weeks to four months scanning for the Facility before they get an idea where it is. We have that long to find the coordinates we need. Which means we have that long to deal a big enough defeat to the Reich's war fleet that we can get ships over there with a good chance of sweeping them out."  
  
Tevos looked to her fellow Councillors. Sparatus had his arms crossed and was clearly mulling something. Valern nodded to her. Tevos looked to them and said, "I think it best that we recess for the moment, the Council needs time to deliberate this new report and confirm its authenticity."  
  
Robert nodded. "Of course."  
  
The three men stepped away from the Council, who moved away as well to deliberate in private chambers. They traveled to the lift heading down to the Presidium. Only as they neared the bottom did the silence end. "It would seem that we are now running out of time," Ledosh said.  
  
"It should light a fire under them, though," Udina said. "They know our history. They know what a regime like Nazi Germany's can do, will do, to them if it ever gains the advantage. Their terms should soften even more now."  
  
"And I may indeed accept some of those," Ledosh said. "But it is preferable to give them some concessions that they may yet yield out of fear. In the short-term they are concerned, but if I take advantage of that, then in the long-term they will feel cheated."  
  
"That is your choice, Emissary. Just remember, the Systems Alliance has been willing to stand with you from the start. Don't let them drive a wedge between us."  
  
"Of course not, Ambassador."  
  
They arrived at the bottom. Udina went on ahead to the Embassy; Ledosh reminded behind with Robert. "Even before your report, they folded their opening terms rather quickly. They seem to have had a loss in confidence," Ledosh noted. He smiled at Robert, who didn't react to that but with a single thought: _He knows_.  
  
"Perhaps they realized that they were playing games when a threat like the Nazi Reich was looming over them," Robert said. "And that the smart thing was to set aside the politics and prepare for a fight before their survival is at stake."  
  
"Perhaps," Ledosh agreed. "You are returning to your ship?"  
  
"Shortly," Robert said. "I have somewhere to go first. Someone who's asked to see me, apparently."  
  
"Ah." Ledosh nodded. "Very well. I shall see you when the Council calls us back, Captain."


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Aurora travels to the Citadel Station of Universe M4P2 (Mass Effect) to negotiate for assistance with the Citadel Council; Zack runs into an old friend when an Alliance supply convoy meets up with the Colonial Refugee Fleet.

Data had found, to much consternation, that the Citadel had rules about "synthetic life forms" that were… harsh, to say the least. It had flustered his efforts to get to visit the Citadel so that he might write on it in his journal and relay interesting finds to the others from the _Enterprise_.

Then he got to go anyway.

"I am most thankful for this opportunity, Commander," he said to Julia Andreys, who walked beside him in the Presidium. "Given the laws in effect on artificial life, I did not think it wise to seek a shore leave without a superior officer present. Otherwise I might have prevailed upon Commander Jarod or Lieutenant Delgado for the opportunity."

"It's alright, Data," Julia said. "I wanted to get a look at it too."

"Of course." Data looked out at the waterway running along the middle of the Presidium. "Have you noticed the small insectoid creatures moving about?"

"The visitor's guide called them 'Keepers'. Apparently they're some sort of bio-drones that maintain the station."

"Curious. I have noted a constant signal connecting them. A control system would explain much." His eyes swept over the station. "It is a fascinating structure."

"That it is."

Data contemplated the sight before turning his head to face Julia again. "Commander, if I may ask, what has motivated your decision to pursue this career? Is it the same humanitarian goals that Captain Dale spoke of at our first contact two years six months ago?"

Julia took a moment. "Well, I see eye to eye with him on that, Commander Data," she said. "But it's not just that." There was a thin smile on her face. She leaned against the nearby railing and put her hands together. "I've always felt like I could do more. That I could be more. Honestly, Data, I think I would have left our hometown eventually regardless of Robert finding that facility. I want to do something with my life and earn a chance to gain more responsibilities."

"In other words, you wish to experience command," Data observed.

Julia tilted her head slightly as she considered that wording. "Yeah, I suppose that works."

"And yet you chose to be the First Officer and not the Captain?"

"Well…" Julia nodded. "I wanted to make sure Rob was alright too. He's… very much a do-er, and doesn't have the same tolerance I do for working in a system. I thought he would do better if he was Captain and I could back him up than if it were the other way around. Besides… he started all of this. Taking charge over him? That wouldn't feel right."

"I see." Data calculated his next question carefully. "Do you wish to become Captain eventually?"

"Well…" Julia thought on that question for a moment. "Actually… yes, I believe so. I do want to become a Captain. Especially of the _Aurora_. I just don't want it to be at Rob's expense."

"I believe Commander Riker has likely entertained similar considerations over the past years." Data began to visually scan the environment again. "I admit, I am perplexed by the dearth of sentient life forms in this galaxy."

"Oh?"

"Yes. By all calculations, there should be many more species in existence than we can observe."

"Well, not necessarily. I mean, we have yet to find other species in my home universe," Julia pointed out. As she said that, she thought of what she'd heard about this galaxy's history. The Protheans had vanished fifty thousand years ago, and after what happened to Zack at Adrana they'd learned that it'd been a quarter of a million years since the violent extermination of the Adranian species. She wondered if there was a connection. _Something to find out later, I guess. When we're not at war with Nazis._ "And we've even seen what would be the homeworlds of several other species from other universes."

"Do you not think it odd that Humans are apparently the only common species to all known universes?"

"All the time. But I'll leave that mystery to people like you, Jarod, and Cat to solve."

"Of course, Commander." Data observed that Worf was now a short distance away. "I see Commander Worf accepted the offer of a visit. I am curious to discover how he is enjoying the Citadel."

"Let's see what he thinks," Julia remarked.

They walked over to where Worf was inspecting a tall statue of a humanoid. The species made Julia think of a horned toad with the shape of the head. "This is the Krogan Memorial," Data observed.

"Yes." Worf looked it over. He held up a hand noteputer from the _Aurora_ with a historical article displayed. "Do you not see?"

"What?", Julia asked.

"These beings, these 'Krogan', they are a strong species. A warrior people." Worf looked back to them and frowned. "And the species of this galaxy used them like war targs. They uplifted them to fight an enemy they could not face and then sterilized them when they grew to fear the Krogan. It is a disgrace."

"Well, that's one way to look at it."

The alien voice prompted them to turn. A Turian stood nearby in C-Sec blue with matching blue face-markings on his gray skin. "Of course, there's also the fact that the Krogan bred out of control once they were off their homeworld with all of its wonderful monsters that eat people. So once their population expanded too far they started seizing worlds from the other species. They nearly captured my species' homeworld before we turned them back. The genophage was considered a better alternative to wiping them out."

Worf appraised the man with narrowed eyes. "So you defend what was done to warriors who saved your kind."

"It was a hard choice, but something had to be done. In our place, would your people have made any better choices?"

It was clear his answer wasn't cutting it with Worf, but the Klingon merely snarled and looked away.

"Excuse me, Officer…"

"Vakarian."

"Yes, thank you. Officer Vakarian, I noted you were not far from the Commander and myself earlier," Data stated. "Are we under police surveillance?"

Officer Vakarian had something of a sense of humor, or so it seemed to Julia and Data. He feigned deep, philosophical thought for a moment. "Well, let's see. We have an officer from a diplomatic mission out of another universe walking the Presidium with an unshackled AI escorting her. Are you really surprised we were going to keep an eye out? It's as much for your safety as ours. The last thing we need is someone mistaking you for a Geth and causing a riot."

"The Geth haven't been outside of their section of the galaxy in centuries. How would people know what one looks like?", Julia asked.

"Exactly my point, Commander." The Turian nodded. "Anyway, I'm only here for your protection. Go ahead and enjoy the sights. Just, for my sake and your own… stay out of Chora's Den."

Data blinked. "I recognize that name from a list of drinking establishments in the visitor information packet. Why should we avoid it?"

"Because it's run by a criminal and has some of the worst cutthroats and scumbags in the Citadel coming and going," Vakarian answered. "Odds are they'd take a look at you and decide to take you apart to see how many credits they could earn from your parts."

Worf smirked. Julia thought it was a rather dangerous one too. "They," Worf said, "would _try_."

"Yeah, but then there'd be a fight and I'd have to break it up. It'll include shooting people and you won't believe the amount of paperwork they'd put me through. And after it was all over I'd have Executor Pallin riding my ass on how I let officers from a diplomatic mission end up in that situation in the first place. So I'd really prefer it if you don't try my luck."

"Well, Officer, we'd better not take any more of your time." Julia checked her clock on her multidevice. "We're due back to our ship in a few minutes anyway."

"Oh, no trouble. I just got yanked off a case tracking a bunch of illegal organs, nothing too important," he replied. "But seriously, thank you. I think your synthetic friend is starting to attract attention."

Julia nodded and looked to Data. "Ready to return, Commander Data? Commander Worf?"

"I have seen a sufficient amount of the Presidium," Data answered.

Worf nodded. "I will accompany you back as well."

"Right." Julia touched the commkey on her multidevice. "Andreys to _Aurora_. Three to beam up."

Several seconds later white light formed around all three of them and they seemed to be whisked away by it. Garrus Vakarian watched that happen and sighed.

A C-Sec rookie stepped up beside him. "Sir? Are you alright?", the young Turian asked.

"I'm fine, kid," Garrus said. "I'm just imagining what a pain in the ass it will be for us when the gangs get a hold of those teleporter devices they use. Now, if you'll excuse me..." Garrus walked past the younger officer. "I have an investigation to get back to."

 

 

 

After leaving Ledosh, Robert followed the Presidium path to one of the Avina interfaces. It greeted him with that feigned VI cheer. "I need directions to the Consort," he said simply.

"The Consort's office can be found…"

Robert followed the directions provided until he got to the Consort's chambers. An Asari at the entrance nodded. "I am Nelyna," she said. "You are the Captain of the _Aurora_ , yes?"

"I suppose the uniform gives it away," Robert answered.

"The Consort is with a client at the moment. She will be just a minute, I believe…"

Three minutes later a Turian, older-looking, came out. Nelyna nodded to the Turian and addressed him amiably as "General Oraka", who scheduled his next meeting with the Consort. "You may go in now, Captain."

Robert entered and walked past a number of other people being tended to by Asari. He passed them and entered the rear chamber. A single Asari was waiting for him, wearing the same semi-revealing suits as the other Asari outside. "Captain Dale," she said simply.

"You would be the Consort, Sha'ira," he answered.

Sha'ira walked up to him. "Yes." She nodded and smiled gently. "Your officer Caterina Delgado is quite the interesting young lady. Passionate, energetic, and youthful. But with hidden depths that will come out in time."

Robert nodded. "I know. Cat's got a lot of potential."

"Many of your crew do." Sha'ira took his hand. "You and your friends are more than what they seem. The fates of many, perhaps of us all, are on your shoulders. I think you know what I mean." Sha'ira drew closer, almost uncomfortably so. Close enough that Robert almost expected Angel to show up and punch her and then him over it.

And that thought seemed to make her back off a little. "Ah yes, I apologize. You are with another, yes?"

"I am."

"Of course. I did not intend to give you discomfort, Captain. But I must share this with you." She looked at him intently. "Some of us are dreamers. We dream of what might come. And we don't always like what we see."

Robert stared at her.

"Yes." She nodded. "I have dreamed as well. Fire and death and darkness." She kept his hand in hers. "And I have dreamed of life and happiness and joy. Do not let your fear of the former consume you, dear Captain. You mustn't, if you and the others are to bring us the better future."

Sha'ira stepped away from him momentarily. When she turned back she was holding something. It was some form a trinket, a small orange disc around a gold frame. She pressed it into his hands and cupped them around the frame. "Take this," she said. "It will be of use to you in the future both near and far."

"What is it?"

"I do not know," she answered. "It was something found long ago on an alien world with no name I know of. Perhaps the secret to that world can be found in it. Or others. All I know is that you must have it."

Robert looked over the object again It seemed innocuous. But… there was something about it. Something _important_ that he could sense.

So he gently slid it into the internal pocket of his uniform jacket. "Thank you," he said. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yes," Sha'ira said. "You can remember that you have a role to play. It must be played right, it must be played well. And above all else, above all distractions, you must remember this." She looked at him intently. "However, whenever, the Darkness might fall… it is always banished by the coming of the Dawn. Remember that, Captain Dale. You must all remember that."

Robert remained quiet.

Sha'ira nodded. "Now, please, I believe I have another client coming. If you wish to see me again, you need only ask Nelyna."

"Uh, yes." He nodded, not sure of what else to say. There was, indeed, nothing else to do but leave.

 

 

 

In a star system far from the Citadel, a single well-suited figure looked over reports flashing in front of him. Nearby a woman was reciting reports.

"We have reason to believe that the spying VI was caught," she said. "The Salarians may not suspect it. But our analysis of the data compared to other sources we have indicates it has been doctored."

"I see." The man turned. There was a flicker of light by one of his hands, the object there hidden in the shadow of the dimmed room. "They are not to be underestimated."

"They should be our allies," the woman insisted. "They hold the key to everything we…"

"In due time," the man counseled. He drew the object up to his mouth. There was an intake of breath and the light dimmed slightly. After a moment he continued. "How are our own efforts going?"

"We haven't achieved any significant infiltration yet, and we might not for some time. These Alliance people can be… different. We may require more time to study."

"The means will present themselves in time, Miss Lawson. For now, I don't want anything too rash to be executed. The United Alliance of Systems is a wild card in this galaxy. I want to make sure that when they come into play, it's in our hand." The man used a swipe of his hand over the nearby hardlight display to change the images to show several pictures. "I have a feeling about these people," he said. His blue eyes, shining with inhuman mechanical precision, looked over the images of Captain Dale, Commander Andreys, and their shipmates. "Make sure we have full write-ups on the command staff of the _Aurora_. I want to make sure we have every angle covered. I want weaknesses and strengths listed and analyzed."

The woman nodded. "Of course, Illusive Man."

"As for our other operations to other universes, I'd like to see Operative Grenville's latest dispatches from Solaris…"

 

 

 

At another location in the galaxy, a lone figure sat in a quiet room. A low din of noise filled his head. In front of him was an image.

It made his blood boil.

The recording from the Council continued at the stroke of a key. " _...likely within the week. As such, the Council expects you to prepare a report on Batarian activity in the Verge and Traverse. The Turian fleet will be…_ "

He turned it off. The Council was coddling the Humans again. _Again_. When the threat they posed was greater than ever…

" _This conflict will be irrelevant_ ," another voice said. It was deep and distorted, not the heard speech of an organic being.

"Irrelevant? These Humans from other universes threaten everything!"

" _Calm yourself, Saren. It is vital that you continue to give no indications to the Council of your new loyalty. Perform all duties with the diligence they would expect of you. It will not be a delay._ "

"And what about our army? Some of the Geth still oppose us. We haven't gotten them all."

" _We will have enough. Now go, Saren. And remember…_ "

"Yes, Sovereign?"

" _I must know more about these Humans from the other universe. That vessel, the_ Aurora _... the design is…_ familiar _to me. They are a potential complication to our return._ "

Saren stood from his place. "I'll keep you updated when I can."

" _Good. Now go._ "

 

 

 

**Tag**

 

Robert met Julia on their mutual way to Science Lab 1. "So, how did the diplomacy go?", Julia asked.

"After what happened yesterday? The Council has softened a couple more terms. Although Emissary Ledosh is giving concessions anyway. He's concerned about buyer's remorse setting in once the fighting kicks up."

"Making the Citadel Council upset with us does seem pretty stupid," Julia agreed. They stepped together into the turbolift. "It looks like everyone's been enjoying leaves to the Citadel. And I haven't heard of any problems yet. Maybe I should go back and pay the Wards a visit."

"I know a great restaurant to recommend," Robert said.

"Yeah." Julia remained silent until the turbolift opened. "But we're running out of time, aren't we?"

"Yeah," Robert said. "We are."

They stepped into Science Lab 1, where Caterina, Jarod, and Data were looking over data. "You wanted to see us?", Robert asked.

"Jarod and Data found something!", Cat exclaimed. "Something I've been dying to find for years!"

Robert and Julia exchanged looks. "Okay. Jarod?"

"We've been compiling more data from the 33LA database. The raw data, even when compiled, isn't always useful," Jarod explained. "It's fragments from larger data files we didn't recover. But we did find this."

Robert looked up at the screen. A series of four characters appeared. "E5B1", Robert read out. "Why does that sound familiar?"

"That's the designation for the Darglan home universe," Caterina said, brimming with excitement."

"You mean the one we've never gone to because we don't want to run into whatever wiped the Darglan out?", Julia pointed out.

"Exactly." Jarod looked to Data. "But that's not the real part of the discovery. Data found an encoded element to the data we've recovered that, when you use the actual characters as a decoding key, creates this." Jarod hit a key.

More numbers appeared.

"It would appear to be a set of coordinates," Data said. "To a star system toward the Galactic Rim. Additionally, I determined a designation attached to the coordinates. Once I compared the designation to what remains of your Darglan databases, I was able to determine what the designation translated into."

"What?", Robert asked.

"Home," was the answer.

Robert and Julia looked at them in stunned silence. "You mean…", Julia finally managed.

She was cut off by Cat, who yelled enthusiastically, "It means we have the coordinates to the _Darglan Homeworld_! We'll be able to find out more of what happened to them! Maybe find some of their ships and other salvageable technology. Or even a guide to other Facilities!"

"I'll have to get permission from…"

There was a tone on Robert's multidevice. He pressed it. "Dale here."

" _We're getting a channel from Admiral Maran for you, sir_ ," was the reply from one of the junior bridge officers.

"What timing," Robert said to the others. He brought up his device and spoke into it. "Relay the call to Science Lab 1."

On a nearby screen Admiral Maran appeared, respectable-looking as always. " _Congratulations on the success you and_ Mastrash _Ledosh enjoyed Captain. I look forward to reading your report._ "

"Sir, Commander Jarod and Commander Data have urgent information I need to share with you."

" _Oh?_ "

"We have the coordinates to the Darglan homeworld, Admiral."

Maran sat back in his chair. " _You've found them?_ "

"They did."

" _Well_." Maran seemed lost in thought. " _We've been avoiding that universe, haven't we? Do you think we should risk running into whatever wiped them out?_ "

"It might be a necessary risk," Julia said. "There's no telling what we can unearth. It might help us find the Facility in S4W8 first."

" _True_." Maran thought about it. " _I'll confer with Defense Command and the President. For now you'll be back on your main mission of providing diplomatic transport. As soon as Ledosh is done finalizing the treaty, you're clear to return to Alliance space in M4P2. We should have a destination for you within the day. And on that matter..._ " He folded his hands together. " _Given what we now know about Nazi activities, there is a strong chance you may have to engage them in a fight for control of that Facility. I want you to have the best chance to succeed, and I'm not the only one…_ "

 

 

 

At Maran's request, Robert returned to the Citadel. He beamed straight to the Embassy for Earth and returned to Udina's office. Udina nodded when he entered. Robert noted that he wasn't alone. "Captain Anderson."

The commander of the _SSV Tokyo_ nodded. "Captain Dale," Anderson replied in his customary deep tone. "Good to see you again. I hear you've been in the thick of the fighting."

"We did our share of it in the early weeks," Robert confirmed. He nodded slightly. "Then they pulled us out of the front to do diplomatic duty."

"So I've heard. You made quite the impression at Arcturus." Anderson noted Udina's look. "It would be interesting to talk, but I'm afraid I'm here on business."

"Admiral Maran said something about that."

"Yes." Anderson nodded. "He informed Command that your ship would be the one to go after the Facility when its location can be verified. Given that we know the enemy's looking for the Darglan base as well, we can't be sure that our side finds it first. You may have to fight for it."

"The thought crossed my mind," Robert said. "Commander Meridina and Commander Kane have been running tactical drills. We already have a tactical expert from Starfleet along who's providing further expertise."

"All well and good. But I hope you'll accept our assistance as well. We're ready to send you someone with intensive training and experience in the kind of operation you might have to perform to prevent Darglan technology from falling into the hands of people like the Nazi Reich." Anderson looked toward the railing, where Udina's office could look out on the Presidium.

Robert turned his head and saw there was someone standing in the corner, wearing the same Systems Alliance uniform as Anderson but with fewer rank bars. She had been looking their way and toward the Presidium and now approached. She was between Angel and Julia in height and carried herself in the same nonchalant, confident way Robert had seen other well-trained officers walk. Her hair was red, almost blazing with the richness of that color, and kept short in a bob cut hairstyle, with the hair covering her ears and a bang and some threads just over the right eye. Brilliant green eyes gave further color to a bronze complexion lightened by time living in space; Robert would guess that she was about his age, maybe a year or two older.

"Captain Dale?" The woman had a North American accent, spoken with a tough, husky sort of voice. "I'm Commander Shepard."

Robert gave her a look. "No first name?", he asked.

Shepard smiled at that. "I don't bother with it. Usually nobody ever uses it but my mother," she replied. "Jen Shepard, then." She extended her hand.

Robert nodded and brought his hand up. "Rob Dale." They shook hands. "It'll be a pleasure having you aboard the _Aurora_ , Commander Shepard."

 


End file.
